The Rural cook book; some old recipes and many new ones--being the collected wisdom of a legion of home cooks

The

Rural Cook Book

'Some hae meaf that canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it»
But we hae meat, and we can eat.
So let the Lord be thankdt."

— Bums.

Publiab«d by

THE RURAL NEW-YORKER

New York

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The

Rural Cook Book

Some Old Recipes and Many New Ones — Being

the Collected Wisdom of a Legion

of Home Cooks

Published by

THE RURAL NEW-YORKER

New York

/

COPlIUGHTj 1907,

By The Rural Publishing Co.
AH rights reserved.

PREFACE

For many years The R. N.-Y. has been collecting tested recipes from
an immense army of practical housewives. Some are entirely original;
others are doubtless modifications of familiar practice. It is an easy
matter to mislay a recipe not needed for immediate use, and we are thus
often asked to repeat their publication, not once, but perhaps a dozen
limes. For this reason it seemed wise to print a selection of these recipes
in permanent form, and "The Rural Cook Book" was decided upon, as
a successor to "The Business Hen" and "The Farmer's Garden." Before
we had finished assem.bling our material, however, we discovered that we
had enough recipes alone to fill four books of the required size, and the
question became not what to put in, but what to leave out. It was decided
that we must give as much space as possible to canning, preserving,
pickling, and other uses of fruit and vegetables, as such recipes are
especially useful to farm housekeepers. This little book is not intended,
however, to be a complete guide to domestic economy; in spite of its
omissions we feel sure that it will be found a real practical helper, and
we also think it will fill a place left vacant by many a more pretentious
volume.

CONTENTS

Chapter I. Soups.

Vegetable, Meat, Chowders, etc 7-12

Chapter II. Fish.

Including Oysters and Clams 13-18

Chapter III. Meats.

Roasts, Stews, Broiling, Meat Pies, Curing Hams, Corning

Beef, Making Sausage, Game 19-39

Chapter IV. Pastry and Pies.

Crusts and Puff Pastes, Tarts, Pie Fillings and Small Dainties. . 40-50

Chapter V. Puddings, Hot and Cold.

Baked, Steamed, Boiled, Fruit and Cereal 51-69

Chapter VI. Apples.

Many Wholesome and Appetizing Ways of Preparing this

Familiar Fruit 70-78

Chapter VII. Bread and Muffins.

White, Brown, Oat and Corn Breads ; Biscuits, Buns, Rolls,

Coffee Cake, Waffles 79-89

Chapter VIII. Cakes.

Doughnuts, Gingerbread, Cookies, Lebkuchen, Many Plain and

Layer Cakes, Cake Fillings and Icings 90-108

Chapter IX. Eggs.

Boiled, Baked, Poached, Omelets, Welsh Rabbit.. 109-113

Chapter X. Vegetables.

Many Methods of Preparmg Familiar Vegetables, Hulled Corn,

Succotash, etc 114-122

Chapter XL Canning and Preserving.

Jams, Jellies, Marmalades, Fruit Butters, Glace Fruits, Practical

Methods of Canning Fruits and Vegetables 123-155

Chapter XII. Pickles and Relishes.

Fruit and Vegetable Pickles, Chow Chow, Sauces, Catsups,

Vinegars 156-182

Chapter XIIL Sal^^ds 183-185

Chapter XIV. Cheese 186-188

Chapter XV. Warm Supper and Breakfast Dishes.

Toasts, Croquettes, Noodles, Pancakes 189-192

CHAPTER I.

SOUPS.

Here are some certain rules of health;
Take them — they're better far than wealth :
Don't overeat, don't overdrink,
Don't overwork, don't overthink,
Be not afraid of honest sweat ;
.Run like a deer from shame and debt.
Beware of bigness of the head.
Get bigness of the soul instead.

Almond and Celery Soup. — Cut in small pieces a bunch of celery,
using the leaves and carefully scraped root; add six peppercorns, two
bay leaves, a tablespoonful of onion juice, a thin slice of lemon, a tea-
spoonful of salt, and a stick of cinnamon; cover with a quart of water
and cook an hour, strain and reheat, stirring in a cup of rich milk (cream
is better), a teaspoonful each of flour and butter blended together, and
one-quarter of a cup of blanched almonds that have been pounded to a
paste, allowing soup to boil for a moment or two after the nuts are
added. Serve very hot with cheese crackers.

English Beef Soup. — Take the cracked joints of beef, and after put-
ting the meat in the pot and covering it well with water let it come
to a boil, when it should be well skimmed. Set the pot where the meat
will simmer slowly until it is thoroughly done, keeping it closely cov-
ered all the time. The next day, or when cold, remove the fat which
hardens on the top of the soup. Peel, wash and slice three good-sized
potatoes and put them into the soup ; cut up half a head of white cab-
bage in shreds and add to this a pint of Shaker corn that has been
soaked over night, two onions, one head of celery, and tomatoes, if de-
sired. When these are done, and they should simmer slowly, care being
taken that they do not burn, strain (or not, as preferred) the soup and
serve. The different varieties of beef soup are formed by this method
of seasoning and the different vegetables used in preparing it after the
joints have been well boiled. Besides onions, celery, cabbage, tomatoes
and potatoes, many use a few carrots, turnips, beets and force-meat balls,
seasoned with spice. Rice or barley will give the soup consistency, and
are to be preferred to flour for the purpose. Parsley, thyme and sage
are the favorite herbs for seasoning, but should be used sparingly. To
make force-meat balls add to one pound chopped beef one egg, a small
lump of butter, a cup or less of bread crumbs; season with salt and
pepper and moisten with water from stewed meat; make in balls and

8 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

fry brown, or make egg-balls by boiling eggs, mashing the yolks with a
silver spoon and mixing with one raw yolk and one teaspoonful of flour ;
season with salt and pepper, make into balls; drop in soup just before
serving.

Black Bean or Lentil Soup. — Soak a pint of black beans or lentils over
night. In the morning, parboil them. Boil gently in fresh water until
soft enough to rub through a sieve. Add a bay leaf, some cloves, and
a stalk of celery. Brown two slices of bacon cut in dice with half a
minced onion and turn into the soup. Serve with squares of toast.

■ Brown Flour Soup. — Put a lump of butter into a clean iron frying
pan. When melted, sprinkle in half a cupful of flour and stir briskly
until the flour is of a uniform brown color like roasted coffee. Add this
gradually to two quarts of water. Peel and cut into cubes three pota-
toes and cook in the soup 20 minutes. Season with an onion and a tea-
spoonful of celery salt.

Consomm.e. — Cut up two pounds of lean raw meat, beef or veal, and
add a cupful of cold roast beef, cut in pieces. Put over the fire with a
cracked knuckle of veal, four quarts of cold water, two onions, one
carrot, two stalks of celery, six peppercorns, a spoonful of salt, six
cloves and a few herbs. Cook slowly all day. Strain, and when cold
skim off the fat. Add the white and shells of two eggs. Bring to a
boil and boil 10 minutes. Strain through a cloth.

Corn Chowder. — Pare and slice thin onions enough to make a pint;
boil one hour; to this add one-half pint potatoes cut small, boil 10
minutes longer. Fry brown a slice of fat salt pork cut small and add
fat and all, then a pint of tender sweet corn (canned corn is all right).
Boil 10 minutes longer; the whole of this now should be two quarts or
more; this is the best time to salt and pepper to taste. Add one pint
of milk and a cupful of cream or a piece of butter as large as an egg if
cream is not plentiful. Do not let cream boil; serve very hot.

Cream of Corn Soup. — Scrape the corn from eight tender young
ears. Boil the cobs in as little water as may be for 30 minutes. Strain
off the liquid, add the scraped corn and boil 20 minutes. Heat one quart
of sweet milk to scalding point; rub together one tablespoonful butter
and one teaspoonful flour; stir into the hot milk. Add one-half tea-
spoonful salt, one-quarter teaspoonful white pepper. Pour over the corn,
stir for a minute or two, then pour into hot tureen. Serve with crou-
tons. Croutons — Cut bread two days old into small triangles or dice.
Brown in oven to a golden tint. They are very nice spread with a paste
made of twice the quantity of butter cream.ed, of delicate cheese grated
and a little finely chopped parsley. (Two teaspoons butter, one of grated
cheese, one-fourth teaspoon chopped parsley). The croutons can be
fried if desired.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 9

Cream of Eggs. — Slice a medium-sized onion into a quart of milk
and bring the milk to the scalding point in a double boiler. Strain
out the onion and return the milk to the kettle with a teaspoonful of
flour that has been rubbed ♦^o a paste with the same quantity of butter.
Stir to a smooth cream-like soup, and just before serving season with
one teaspoonful of salt and three shakes of pepper. Chop coarsely, the
white of four or five hard-boiled eggs and add to the soup. When
ready to serve sprinkle each portion with the grated yolks.

Cream of Salsify. — Take two bunches of salsify, wash, scrape and cut
in small pieces and boil until tender. While hot mash and press through
a colander. Have ready a cream made of two tablespoons of flour and
two of butter melted together, seasoned with one-half saltspoonful white
pepper and stirred into three cups milk and one cup water, which have
previously been brought to a boil. Stir constantly until the consistency
of a puree; add the prepared salsify, let boil up once, add three-quarters
of a teaspoonful salt, and serve immediately.

Fish Chowder. — Two pounds of fresh cod or any white fish, a quar-
ter-pound bacon, four large potatoes, one small onion, half a can tomatoes,
one quart milk, butter the size of a walnut, and a teaspoonful of flour
for thickening. Pick the fish to pieces, removing all bone and skin;
peel potatoes and cut into dice ; cut the bacon in small pieces ; rub the
butter and flour to a cream. On the bottom of a granite kettle spread
half of the potatoes in a layer, then half of fish, then sprinkle in the
onions minced fine, then the bacon, then half the tomatoes. Then a
shake of salt and pepper; add the rest of the fish, potatoes, tomatoes and
more salt and pepper, using in all one teaspoonful salt and one-half tea-
spoonful pepper. Cover with water, let simmer for half an hour. Let
the milk come to a scald, put a pinch of soda into the chowder and stir;
add the hot milk to the butter and flour; stir smooth; then add to the
chowder ; let get very hot, and serve.

Milk Soup. — The various soups known as creams are usually about
half milk and half meat or vegetable stock, slightly thickened with flour
which has been blended with fat. For example, the tough, flabby portions
and white leaves of a bunch of celery might be cut in small pieces, mixed
with a sliced onion, covered with cold water and cooked until much of it
can be. rubbed through a strainer. To this juice and pulp is added an
equal portion or even more of hot milk. For thickening a quart of soup
slightly, one ounce of butter and one rounding tablespoonful of flour
should be cooked together in a small saucepan until frothing, then add a
little of the soup and beat until smooth, and then mix with the whole
Season with salt and pepper. For a thicker soup use twice as much
flour and butter, though the butter may be decreased slightly. However,
if we use skim-milk for the soup, as we may, the increase of butter is

10 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

desirable. Such soups can be made from almost any vegetable, varying
the thickening according to the thickness of the pulp of the vegetables.
Bean and pea soup require less flour, but a little will keep them from
becoming watery on top. A corn chowder can be made much like a
fish chowder from fresh or canned corn with pork fat, onion and po-
tato. Such soups are excellent for supper on a cold night, and give an
opportunity to turn skim-milk to good account.

Mock Oyster Soup. — Scrape a dozen roots of salsify, throwing at once
into cold water to avoid discoloring, cut into thin slices and cover with
a quart of water, or preferably soup stock. Cook gently until perfectly
tender (about an hour) ; then add a quart of milk, a teaspoonful of salt,
one-fourth teaspoonful of pepper, and two tablespoonfuls of butter cut
into bits. Serve with oyster crackers.

Italian Onion Soup. — Boil six young but fully grown onions in two
waters, turning off the first at the end of 10 minutes' boil, and replac-
ing with fresh hot water. There should be a quart of the second water.
When the onions are tender, add a cupful of dry, fine bread crumbs and
cook gently for five minutes more. Pour the contents of the kettle into
a colander and rub the onions and crumbs through it into the liquid in
the bowl below. Return all to the fire, simmer for a minute and stir into
the soup a "roux," made by heating to a bubbling cream a great spoon-
ful of butter with one of flour in a frying pan. Have ready heated in
another saucepan a cup of milk in which you have dropped a pinch of
soda. Take the boiling soup from the fire, stir in the hot milk, and pour
into a heated tureen. Pass Parmesan cheese with it.

Cream, of Oyster Soup. — Add to one quart of milk half of a small
onion, two sprigs of parsley and a half a cupful of celery leaves and
stalks. Scald in a double boiler. Mix one-fourth of a cupful of flour
with sufficient cold milk to make a paste and add it to the scalded milk.
Stir until it thickens and let cook for about 20 minutes covered. Pour
a cupful of cold water over a quart of oysters, strain the liquid through
a cheesecloth and heat to a boiling point. Add the oj^sters and when the
boiling point is reached add the thickened milk. Season with salt and
white pepper and stir in, little by little, one-fourth of a cup of butter.

Pink Velvet Soup. — Half a canful of tomatoes, one pint of water,
one tablespoonful of butter, one large onion, chopped small ; one potato
shaved thin, a saltspoonful of celery seed, a teaspoonful of salt, a table-
spoonful of sugar and a pinch of sweet marjoram. Boil all together
for half an hour, or until the potatoes melt. Strain, thicken with gran-
ulated tapioca or cornstarch, boil five minutes, add a pinch of baking soda,
and then pour in a pint of hot milk. Serve at once.

Potato Soup.— Three potatoes, one pint milk, one teaspoonful chopped
onions, one stalk celery, one teaspoonful salt, one teaspoonful celery salt,

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 11

one-half saltspoonful white pepper, one-fourth saltspoonful cayenne, one-
half tablespoonful flour, one tablespoonful butter. Pare the potatoes
and soak them in cold water one-half hour. Boil them until very soft.
Cook onions and celery in milk in double boiler. When potatoes are
soft drain and mash, add boiling milk and seasoning. Rub through
strainer and put on to boil again. Melt butter in small saucepan ; when
bubbling add flour; when well mixed stir into boiling soup. Boil five
minutes and serve very hot. This flour thickening prevents milk and
potato from separating, and gives a smoothness quite unlike granular
efl"ects often noticed. If too thick add hot milk. The soup may also be
made with meat stock instead of milk.

Salmon Bisque. — One pint of oyster liquor and one of hot water
heated together. When it boils stir in two cupfuls of finely minced
salmon, seasoning with pepper, salt and a little chopped parsley. In an-
other saucepan put one cupful of milk and heat to scalding, with a pinch
of soda; stir into this two tablespoonfuls of butter, rubbed with one
tablespoonful of flour and a half cupful of pounded cracker. Add one
Q^g^ well beaten and stir and cook for a moment. Mix the fish and
milk mixtures, cook a few moments, pour into soup tureen and serve
hot.

Scotch Broth. — One-half cup pearl barley, two pounds neck of mutton,
tv/o quarts cold water, one-fourth cup each of turnip, carrot, onion and
celery chopped small, two tablespoons butter, one tablespoon flour, two
teaspoonfuls salt, one saltspoon parsley chopped fine. Soak barley over
night. Remove fat and skin from mutton, scrape meat from bones and
cut in dice. Put bones on to boil in one pint cold water, the meat in
separate pot with three pints water. Let the latter cook quickly. Skim
when it begins to boil; add barley; skim again. Fry the chopped vege-
tables in the hot butter five minutes, drain, add to the meat, simmer
three hours. Strain the water in which the bones were simmered, set
aside for a moment. Put in the saucepan the butter left from frying
the vegetables, melt and add the flour. When smooth, pour in. gradually
the liquid from the bones. Add to the broth, add salt, parsley and one-
half saltspoon pepper, simmer 10 minutes and serve. As this broth is
served without straining it is always well to boil bones separately.

Split Pea Soup. — Wash a pint of split peas and cover with tepid
water, adding a pinch of soda, and let remain over night to swell. In
the morning put them in a kettle with three quarts of cold water, adding
half a pound of lean salt pork cut into slices, also a teaspoonful of salt
and a little pepper. Cook slowly for three hours, stirring occasionally
till the peas are all dissolved, adding a little more boiling water to keep
up the quantity 'as it boils away. Strain through a colander. Serve with
small squares of toasted bread.

13 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Squirrel Soup. — Allow one large or two small squirrels, well washed
and jointed, to two quarts of cold water and two teaspoonfuls (level)
of salt. Put to cook directly after breakfast in a stone pipkin or enam-
eled kettle. Cover closely and set on the back of the range to simmer —
not boil. After two hours add the corn from two ears, two small Irish
potatoes, one-half cupful of Lima beans, three sprigs of parsley, three
celery stalks and one-half cupful of sliced okra. Keep closely covered,
and as the water evaporates add enough to keep the original two quarts.
When the squirrels bave cooked to rags strain through a coarse colander
to remove the troublesome little bones. Return to the soup kettle, cover
and continue to simmer until nearly time to serve. Then thicken with
p dessertspoonful of butter rolled in a dessertspoonful of flour. Those
who like may add a teaspoonful of powdered sassafras leaves. Have two
slices of toast cut into inch squares, fried in butter and placed in the
bottom of a hot tureen. Pour over them the soup, boiling hot, and
serve immediately.

Puree of Tomatoes. — Cook the contents of a can of tomatoes for 15
minutes, then rub through a colander. Return to the fire and season with
salt and pepper to taste, and a little sugar. Rub three tablespoonfuls of
butter into one tablespoonful of cornstarch, and stir this smooth paste
into the strained tomatoes. Cook, stirring steadily, until smooth and
thick. Have ready heated in a saucepan a quart of rich milk into which
has been stirred a pinch of baking soda. To this add, gradually, the
thickened tomato liquor, beating the milk constantly as you do so.
Serve immediately, putting a great spoonful of unsweetened whipped
cream on the surface of each plate of soup.

Vegetable Cream Soups.— Scald three cupfuls of milk. Rub together
one tablespoonful of butter and two tablespoonfuls of flour, cook until
it bubbles; add the hot milk gradually to this, and cook for five minutes,
stirring until thick and smooth. Blend some of this cream with a cup-
ful of cooked vegetable, mashed to a smooth pulp, mix all together, and
simmer for five minutes, seasoning appropriately. Potato soup should
have a little celery and onion cooked in the milk, and when ready to
serve some finely-chopped parsley should be scattered on top. Celery,
asparagus, green peas or beans, carrots, spinach, cucumbers and lettuce
are all good in such soup ; all must first be cooked and reduced to a
smooth pulp. Bread cut into dice and browned in butter is often added
when the soup is ready to serve.

CHAPTER II.

FISH.

All small fish are best fried, and many large fish are excellent cooked
in the same way. The fish should be well cleaned; if small left whole,
if large cut into neat pieces. Beat an egg with a tablespoonful of cold
water; dip the fish in this, then roll in bread crumbs or cornmeal. Cook
in plenty of fat, which must be boiling hot when put in. Baking and
boiling are both excellent methods of cooking fish, but very soft fish
should never be boiled. The recipes given below refer mainly to canned
and salt fish, because these are more helpful in an emergency.

Clam Chowder. — Take the liquor from fifty clams, put it on the stove
to heat. Cut into dice ^ pound salt pork, brown it in the frying pan,
and add to the clam liquor. I'cel and cut into dice three quarts of ripe
tomatoes and half the quantity of potatoes. Cut up 50 clams, and let all
the ingredients boil slowly for two or three hours. Half hour before
serving add half a dozen large crackers rolled fine.

Clam Gumbo. — In one large tablespoonful of lard fry one finely-
chopped onion, add one cupful of chopped cooked ham, one tablespoonful
of chopped green pepper, four tomatoes, skinned and cut in pieces, one
pint of okra, stemmed and sliced, one scant teaspoonful of salt and one
quart of water or broth. Simmer for an hour, add one dozen finely
chopped clams, simmer 15 minutes, and serve.

Clam Pie. — From a half pound of rather fat salt pork trim off the
rind and cut in slices, then in dice. Slowly fry this, and when the fat
is well drawn out and just beginning to color add half of a small onion
cut fine. When golden brown add one quart of raw, diced potatoes,
one pint of boiling water and one-quarter of a teaspoonful of black pep-
per. Cover and cook slowly until the potatoes are almost tender. Take
from the fire, add one solid pint of raw clams cut in quarters and theii-
strained juice. Turn into a deep well-greased baking dish. While this
mixture is cooking mix and sift together one pint and a half of flour,
a .half teaspoonful of salt and two teaspoonfuls of baking powder.
Mix to a soft dough with sweet milk, and roll out not over a half inch
thick. Cut in small round biscuits. Place these close together over the
top of the pie, brush with milk and bake in a hot oven for 35 minutes.

Roast Clams. — Wash the clams and drain them in a colander for a
few minutes, then lay them in a large dripping pan and put the pan into
a very hot oven. As soon as the shells begin to open, the clams are

14 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

cooked; it takes from seven to 10 minutes to roast them. Have a cov-
ered dish hot, and drop the clams into it as soon as they are taken from
the shell. Spread over them a mustard cream sauce and serve at once.
To make the sauce: Put one cup of milk over the fire in a double
boiler. When boiling, gradually stir into it three tablespoonfuls of but-
ter, one of flour, and one teaspoonful of dry mustard that have been
beaten to a creamy mass. Season with salt and pepper and return to the
fire; cook three minutes, and it is ready to serve. Thin slices of brown
bread, buttered, are served with roast clams.

Baked Fish. — Bluefish, cod, or haddock are the best fish to bake.
Clean the fish and make a stuffing as follows: Soak stale bread in cold
water for 20 minutes. Press dry, and season with one Qgg, one table-
spoonful melted butter and a small quantity of sage, or the prepared
poultry dressing, or a little onion juice, as preferred. When the stuf-
fing has been thoroughly mixed, fill the fish and sew up with needle and
thread. Flour the fish well and salt it. Lay a few thin slices of salt pork
into the bottom of the baking dish, also a few slices on top .of the
fish. Baste it often with the liquor which cooks out of it, adding a lit-
tle water it there is not enough. Allow 15 minutes to the pound for
bakmg fish. Have a moderate oven, as, if very hot, it will not cook
well in the middle.

New England Codfish. — Select a whole fish, and put it to soak in
cold water over night; in the mormng wash it clean and cut off the*fins
and tail. Cook the fish whole; if you have not got a fish kettle place it
in a large milk pan partly filled with water. Cover the pan closely and
set over a kettle of hot water. It will cook very slowly in this way, say
five or six hours, according to the size of the fish, but it will be done
properly when ready for the table. Serve it whole, placing it on a hot
platter. Indeed, one of the essentials of a good salt fish dinner is to
have everything hot, not only the fish and vegetables, but plates and
dishes as well. The dish on which your fish is served must be an ample
one, and around the fish you will place a garnish of nicely sliced beets
and carrots. With the fish you will serve pork scraps and &gg sauce
and boiled potatoes. The pork should be cut into dice and fried a rich
brown. To make the tgg sauce, take two eggs that have been boiled
10 minutes, remove the shell, and cut into little pieces, placing them in
the sauce dish. Blend a piece of butter the size of an egg with a table-
spoonful of flour, and when the fish is ready to serve, pour over a coffee-
cupful of boiling water, stir, and pour into the sauce dish with the egg
and stir again. If the sauce is too thick, add still more boiling water.
When you have not time to cook a salt fish for dinner and desire an
emergency dish, try salt fish in cream prepared as follows: Shred a
cupful of salt cod, or, if you prefer, use the prepared article, place it in

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 15

a stewpan over the fire in cold water to cover, and let it come to a boil
for a couple of minutes; pour off the water, add to the fish one pint
of sweet milk, and when this boils thicken with flour wet with milk;
let it boil four or five minutes, being careful it does not scorch, and
serve in a hot, deep dish. Serve pickled beets with this dish, and boiled
potatoes.

Cuban Codfish. — Pick into fine shreds a cupful of freshened codfish.
Cut an onion into thin slices and lightly brown in a saucepan with a
tablespoonful of butter. Add the fish and pour in just enough water
to cover. Add a part of a chopped green pepper and a half can of to-
matoes. Cover closely and simmer for an hour. If the tomatoes are
very juicy, less water is required. Cream a rounded teaspoonful of but-
ter and one of flour; stir into the fish until smooth and cooked; turn the
mixture upon thin slices of buttered toast.

Delicate Fishballs. — Boil the quantity of codfish that would be re-
quired, changing the water once that it may not be too salt. While the
fish is hot pick it very fine, so that it will be feathery. It cannot be done
fine enough with a fork, and should be picked by hand. At the same
time have hot boiled potatoes ready, mash them thoroughly and make
them creamy with milk and a good-sized lump of butter. To three cup-
fuls of mashed potatoes take 1^ cupful of fish; the fish should not be
packed down. Beat one ^^g lightly and stir into the other ingredients
and season to taste. Beat the mixture well together and until light, then
mold it into small balls, handling lightly and before frying roll the balls
in flour. Fry them in smoking hot fat until a gold color.

Mexican Codfish. — Fry to a pale yellow one small onion, chopped
fine, in three tablespoonfuls of butter; add two tablespoonfuls of flour,
half a green pepper, chopped fine, and one cupful of stewed and sifted
tomato pulp. When the sauce reaches the boiling point, add half a
pound of salt codfish, which has been freshened for 24 hours in cold
water and slowly simmered until it will readily separate into flakes.

Codfish Alound. — Make one quart of good mashed potatoes without
anj-- salt; add a pint of picked boiled codfish. Season with pepper; beat
well together, make into a mound with a depression in center on "a bak-
ish dish, and set in the oven to brown. When brought to the table, pour
a few tablespoonfuls of cream sauce in center of mound, and garnish
with, hard-boiled .eg%. Serve with boiled beets and, if desired, salt pork
or bacon cut into tiny squares and fried crisp, which, with the fat fried
out, is poured into a gravy bowl. This makes a hearty and satisfying
meal.

Biscay Salt Cod. — Bone two pounds of salt cod and soak in cold
water for 12 hours. Place in a saucepan, cover with salt water and let
heat gradually to boiling point; then add fresh water and let boil again.

16 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Take out and drain. Chop two onions and one green pepper quite fine
and cook for five minutes in butter or oil. Add one sliced tomato or
half-cupful of stewed tomatoes, one clove of garlic and a small chili
pepper. Add to these three pints of broth, a small bunch of parslej^,
three tablespoonfuls of tomato catsup and a pint of small potatoes
(peeled) or the same quantity of potato balls. Cook until the potatoes
are just done, add the cod and cook five minutes longer.

Salt Codfish Chowder. — Cut one-fourth pound of salt pork into bits
and try out the fat in a frying pan; in this brown two medium-sized
onions, sliced. Wash and drain a pound of codfish, cut or picked into
bits; cover with cold water and set on back of range to heat, but not
boil. After two hours add a pint and a half of potatoes pared and sliced,
and a dash of pepper. Add a cupful of water to the onions and pork
and strain over the potatoes. When the potatoes are tender add one
cupful each of scalded cream and milk. Pour the chowder over six
crackers broken into halves and serve.

Finnan Haddie, Caledonian Style. — Soak one-half of a finnan haddie
weighing four pounds, two hours in milk and water to cover, using
equal parts, having the liquid at a uniformly even tepid temperature.
This is best accomplished by having the fish in a drip pan on the back
of the range. Trim the fish to fit a copper platter or graniteware drip-
ping pan, by cutting off flank and a two-inch piece from the tail end.
Pour over a cream sauce, and surround with six halves of potatoes of
uniform size smoothly pared. Cook until the potatoes are soft, the time
required being about 40 minutes, basting with the cream sauce three
times during the cooking. Cream must enter into the composition of a
real cream sauce. For the cream sauce for the finnan haddie, melt two
tablespoonfuls of butter, add two tablespoonfuls of flour, and stir until
well blended, then pour on gradually, while stirring constantly, one cupful
of milk and one-half cupful of cream. Bring to the boiling point, and
season with a few grains of pepper. No salt will be needed, for it must
be remembered that finnan haddie is salted.

Finnan Haddie in Cream. — Cover a pound of the fish with cold water
and let come to a simmer, drain, then cut into moderate-sized pieces. In
the meantime prepare a cream sauce made by melting a tablespoonful
of butter to which is added a tablespoonful of flour, a scant saltspoonful
of salt, a dash of cayenne, two teaspoonfuls of lemon juice and one-half
cupful each of milk and cream. Add the pieces of fish, let the whole
come to a boil and serve. This creamed fish is also very nice if put
in a baking dish, covered with bread crumbs, and browned in the oven.
Browned Salt Mackerel. — Freshen two fish by soaking over night,
wash in fresh water in the morning and squeeze over the flesh side the
juice of one-half a lemon. Lay one of the fish skin side down in baking

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 17

dish and cover with dressing made of one cupful bread crumbs, one table-
spoonful butter (scant), pinch of pepper, a little grated lemon peel and
one-fourth cupful of cream. Lay the other fish on dressing, skin side up,
and baste well with hot water and melted butter. Put into a hot oveh
for 20 minutes, then cover with bread crumbs, dot with bits of butter
and put back in the oven till nicely browned. Carefully dish without
disturbing the layers and serve with thin lemon slices and parsley as a
garnish.

Oyster Chowder. — Fry together two ounces of salt pork and one
onion, sliced. Parboil one pint of sliced potatoes five minutes and drain.
Look over carefully one pint of oysters, pour over one-half cupful of
water and heat to the boiling point; skim out the oysters and pour the
liquor over the potatoes, add the pork and onions and cook the potatoes
until tender, adding a little more water if necessary; add the oysters,
one pint of milk and one-half cupful of fine bread crumbs. Season with
one teaspoonful of salt and half-teaspoonful of pepper and pour in the
serving dish.

Oyster Stew. — Put one quart of oysters in a colander, and pour over
three-fourths of a cupful of cold water, reserving the liquor. Pick over
tlie oysters, being careful that no particles of shells adhere to the tough
muscles. Heat the reserved liquor to the boiling point, strain through a
double thickness of cheese cloth, add the oysters, and cook, stirring oc-
casionally, until the oysters are plump and the edges begin to curl. Re-
move the oysters with a skimmer to a heated tureen, and add one-fourth
of a cupful of butter, one-half tablespoonful of salt, one-eighth of a
teaspoonful of pepper, the oyster liquor, strained a second time through
a double thickness of cheese clotji, and four cupfuls of scalded milk.

Baked Pickerel. — Clean the fish carefully and lay on a rack in a
dripping pan; dredge with a teaspoonful of salt, several dashes of pepper,
and a little flour. Bake carefully, basting every 10 minutes until well
done, with hot water to which a tablespoonful of butter has been added.
Make the sauce with half a cup of cream and half a cup of the basting
liquid in which the fish was cooked ; thicken with a teaspoonful of butter
and a tablespoonful of flour ; let the sauce boil up once, then add a ta-
blespoonful of chopped parsley. Pour part of the sauce around the
fish on a platter, and serve the remainder in a gravy boat.

Quahaug Pie. — Remove the loose brown skin and black part from a
quart of sea clams and chop the remainder fine. Scald a cup of milk,
the liquid from the clams and enough water to make a pint in all, and
thicken it with a tablespoonful each of flour and butter cooked to a
smooth paste; then add pepper and salt to taste and two finely-chopped
hard-boiled eggs, and lastly, the chopped clams. Line a meat pie dish
with pie crust, then add a thin layer of cracker crumbs, the prepared

18 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

clams, and sprinkle this over with another layer of cracker crumbs and
cover with a good, rich crust, leaving several openings so the steam
can escape. Bake about an hour in a hot oven until well browned.

Salmon Chowder. — Chop coarsely and brown together in a kettle or
saucepan, one-fourth pound of salt pork and one onion. Add one pint
of raw potatoes, chopped or cut in dice, which have stood for half an
hour in cold water. Season, barely cover with boiling water, and sim-
mer for half an hour; then add a can of salmon, drained and flaked,
two or three broken crackers and one pint of scalded milk or cream,
with two teaspoons of butter. This may be varied by the addition of a
can of tomatoes, or a shredded pepper or both.

Creamed Salmon. — Put one tablespoonful of butter into a saucepan;
when melted add one tablespoonful of flour, half a teaspoonful of salt,
a dash of paprika and half a cup of milk. Cook until smooth, then add
a small can of salmon finely minced, one tablespoonful lemon juice and
a little grated nutmeg. Remove from the fire and add yolks of three
eggs, well beaten; whip whites of the eggs stiff and fold in carefully.
Butter small molds or a baking dish, place in hot water in a dripping
pan and bake from 10 to 25 minutes.

Escalloped Salmon. — Put one pint of milk to heat with a tablespoon-
ful of butter. Moisten a tablespoonful of flour and stir in; when thick
like cream remove from fire. Drain the liquid from the salmon and
remove bone, pick it all up into fine pieces with a fork. Butter a bak-
ish dish, put in a layer of fine cracker crumbs, then half the salmon, an-
other layer of cracker crumbs, and half the thickened milk. Then add
the remaining salmon, a layer of crumbs and the remaining milk. Bake
half an hour.

Salmon Loaf. — One can of salmon drained and minced. Five table-
spoonfuls of butter, four eggs well beaten; half cup of bread crumbs,
salt and pepper to taste. Mix all together, and steam one hour in but-
tered mold.

Fried Smelts. — Do not have the heads removed when the marketman
cleans the fish. Wipe the outside of each with a damp cloth and then
roll in Indian meal, then in beaten ^gg and then again into the meal; lay
in a ivy'mg basket or place a few in a kettle of hot lard to cook until
the coating is brown ; remove them and drain on to plain paper, and when
serving arrange with garnishing of sliced lemon and parsley. If the
basket is used place the fish side by side in it and drop into the kettle of
hot lard until the fish are browned.

Sportsman's Trout. — Take two fresh young trout, clean, wash and
then wipe dry. Use one-half teaspoon of salt and two or three dashes
of pepper over the fishes. Put in a pan to fit and fill to the level with
cream. Bake a light brown, when the fish will have absorbed the cream.

CHAPTER III.

MEATS.

I am the dinner table ; upon my ample breast

Three times a day the housewife puts out her very best.

Three times a day they gather — old grandpa at the head,

Thrice' daily ofEers up his thanks for life and daily bread.

Then how the knives they clatter and how my load grows light,

And how the housewife's goodly fare doth disappear from sight,

I am the dinner table, and while my timbers stand

I'll still remain headquarters for our good household band.

Elaborate instructions for marketing are usually given under this head,
but the farm housekeeper meets with different conditions. If meat is
locally slaughtered it is likely to be much better in quality than that from
the great packing centers. In pork particularly she has a great advantage
over her town sisters. It should be remembered that in beef and mutton
many of the cheaper and tougher cuts are nutritious and well flavored,
but they need careful preparation, and especially long slow cooking.
Tough meat should never be roasted, broiled or fried; it should be cooked
gently in a closed vessel, with such seasonings as will best develop flavor.
There are still some cooks who prepare meat hastily in slightly thickened
water, and then wonder why the family dislikes stews. With long, slow
cooking in a casserole or closed vessel, and a proper admixture of herbs
and seasoning, the humble stew becomes a delicious ragout.

Bacon, Cold Roast. — Select a square piece weighing three or four
pounds, soak it over night. The next morning put it on to boil, allowing
it to simmer very gently three-quarters of an hour to the pound ; then
let it go cool in the water in which it was cooked. When cold drain,
remove the skin, rub the fat well with sugar, pour over it some cider
vinegar, and roast in the oven until brown. When cold cut into thin
slices ; it should be tender and delicate in flavor.

Beef, Braised. — Procure a piece of four pounds, make incisions in it
an inch and a half apart, and stuff them with a dressing made of two
tablespoonfuls of finely-minced onion, three tablespoonfuls of chopped
parsley, a teaspoonful of sweet basil, a half teaspoonful of thyme, a half
teaspoonful of pepper and two teaspoonfuls of salt. Dredge a table-
spoonful of flour over the meat, lay three thin slices of bacon in the
bottom of a deep pan, place the meat in, lay three more slices of bacon
over the top, cover with a well-fitting lid and shut up in a moderate oven
to brown. After it has been cooking for two hours add two carrots (or
four small ones), one turnip, three stalks of celery, four salsifies and one

20 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

onion, all sliced. Add also three tablespoonfuls of tomato catsup, one
minced green pepper, a teaspoonful of salt. If no green pepper is at
hand use a few shreds of red pepper pod. A coffeecupful of boiling water
should be added with the vegetables. Fit the cover on closely again and
leave in the oven for another hour, or until both meat and vegetables are
tender. To serve, place the meat on a hot platter and arrange the vege-
tables by the spoonful about it; there should be just gravy enough to
hold the vegetables together.

Beef, Corned. — Here is an old home recipe for corning beef, which
will be especially useful to tliose who kill their own beef cattle as well
as pork. To every hundred pounds of beef take nine pounds of salt, four
pounds of sugar or two quarts of good molasses, two ounces of soda, one
ounce of saltpeter, and just enough water to cover the meat — about four
or five gallons. Strew some salt over the bottom of a barrel ; mix about
half the am.ount of salt given with half the given amount of sugar or
molasses, and rub each piece of meat thoroughly with it before placing it
in the barrel. Dissolve the saltpeter and soda together in hot water, add
the remainder of the salt and sugar and about four or five gallons of
cold water. Pour this over the meat. Place a board on top of the meat,
with a weight heavy enough to keep it under the brine. It may be kept
an indefinite time in the brine, but is salt enough to cook after five or
six days' corning.

Spiced corned beef is made as follows, the recipe being an old one,
we think of German origin : Rub twelve pounds of a round of beef with
half a pound of coarse sugar. Let it stand for two days, turning it two
or three times. Take a large teaspoonful of mace, a teaspoonful of black
pepper, two of cloves, half a teaspoonful of cayenne, one small grated
nutmeg, two ounces of juniper berries and one-half ounce of saltpeter.
Stir all these seasonings together, adding a teaspoonful of sugar and rub
the mixture thoroughly into the meat and all over it. Then let it stand
for three days longer. At the end of this time rub half a pound of fine
salt into the meat. Finally, let it stand for twelve days, rubbing the meat
and turning it daily. If it is to be cooked immediately and not dried, wash
it, but do not soak it. Lay it in a pot that just fits it, and pour over it a
quart and a half of water. When it comes to the boiling point skim it
carefully, add a carrot, a small onion, a bay leaf and a few sprigs of par-
sley. Let it simmer very gently for four and a half h6urs. Take it from
the fire, put it under a heavy weight and let it cool in the liquid in which
it was cooked. Serve in thin slices when perfectly cold.

Corned Beef, Shaker Style. — This recipe is given under the name of
"bacca," in Good Housekeeping : Pound down close in a barrel 100
pounds of the round of beef cut in lO-pound pieces, with a mixture of
lour pounds sugar, two ounces saltpeter, two ounces soda bicarbonate, and

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 21

four quarts table salt sprinkled under, over and between. It will make
brine without water. After one week, a piece of the top of the round,
sliced and broiled, will be found tender and delicious. The bottom of
the round, boiled till tender and sliced thin when cold, resembles ham,
but is more choice in flavor.

Corned Beef, Savory Style.— Choose a piece of brisket of corned beef
weighing four to five pounds and about three times as long as wide;
wash, season with a small haif teaspoonful of pepper, then roll it up and
tie very tight. Put the beef in a kettle with cold water to cover, and
let slowly come to a boil, then pour it off and replace with more cold
water to cover; add half a cupful of vinegar, a small onion, peeled, in
which is inserted six cloves, half a red pepper, a blade of mace and a
stalk of celery. Boil gently, allow half an hour to each pound. Serve hot.
If the meat is preferred cold, it should be allowed to cool in the broth
in which it was cooked.

Curried Beef. — Melt in a saucepan two tablespoonfuls of butter, add
two onions sliced, and fry until brown; then add two tablespoonfuls of
curry powder. Cut cold roast beef in pieces about an inch square, put it
in the saucepan and add half a cupful of sweet milk. Simmer for 30
minutes. Just before serving add the juice of a lemon. Send to the
table on a platter bordered with boiled rice.

Beef Loaf. — Take two pounds of round steak and half a pound of
suet, both chopped fine; add two eggs, one cupful of bread crumbs that
have been softened in cold water, one small onion, chopped fine, one-half
cupful of sweet milk 1^-2 teaspoonful of salt, and a fourth of a tea-
spoonful of pepper ; mix all together and shape into a loaf, put in a roast*
ing pan and bake in a moderate oven 2^ hours, baste frequently; serve
with tomato sauce.

Beefsteak Chowder. — Cut a pound and one-half of round steak in strips
or cubes. Cut three or four ounces of fat pork in small pieces and cook
in a hot frying pan with an onion sliced very thin. When both are
browned add a quart of boiling water, simmer five minutes, pour the
whole over the steak, bring to the boiling point, boil for five minutes and
then cook slowly until the meat is tender. Have ready five large potatoes
peeled, sliced, scalded in boiling water, drained and rinsed in cold water.
Add the potatoes, one teaspoonful of salt and saltspoonful of pepper.
Cook until the potatoes are tender, then add one and one-half cupful of
rich milk and a little more salt if necessary. Heat to the boiling point
and pour over pilot biscuit or thick crackers which have been dipped for
a second in hot water.

English Beefsteak Pudding. — Make a crust by thoroughly mixing two
cupfuls of finely-chopped beef suet in three cupfuls of flour; add half
teaspoonful of salt, and mix with cold water into a dough with the con-

22 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

sistency of biscuit. Roll out the paste to the thickness of half an inch.
Butter an earthen pudding bowl, and line with the paste. Take flank or
round steak, cut into one-inch pieces, season with pepper and salt, and
fill the dish. Pour in as much cold water as will find its way in around
the meat, then cover it with paste, having moistened the edges to make
them stick together. Cover with a cloth, well floured, leaving a little
room for the pudding to swell. Put it into a pot of boiling water, and
let it boil three hours, or put it in a steamer, and allow four hours'
cooking. When fully cooked the meat should be very tender, with an
abundance of rich clotted gravy. The addition of a few oysters with
the meat forms a palatable change. Serve with boiled carrots and turnips.

Spiced Beef. — This makes a desirable cold dish for luncheon or tea,
or for Sunday dinner in Summer. Select a piece of the flank, trim off
the coarse skin, lay it flat on the table, and, with a knife, spread over it
the following mixture : One teaspoonful ground mustard, one teaspoonful
celery salt, half teaspoonful black pepper, pinch of red pepper, mixed to
a smooth paste with vinegar. Then roll up the meat like a jelly cake, the
spice inside, tie it up, tie it in a cloth like a pudding. Put it into boiling
water, and let it boil 2^ hours. When cooked lift the kettle off the
stove, and allow the water to cool before removing the meat. Do not
lake the cloth off until cold, then slice the meat for serving.

Waverly Collared Beef. — Corn a six-pound piece of the thick part of
the brisket by putting it in brine strong enough to float an tg^, to which
is added a heaping teaspoonful of saltpeter, one of brown sugar and a
saltspoon of red pepper. Leave it in five or six days in Summer; eight
or 10 in Winter. Use an earthen crock, and turn the meat every two or
three days. Grate two large carrots, a good-sized stick of horseradish,
and chop fine a large bunch of parsley; mix all together, and spread a
thick layer on the corned beef, keeping it well to the middle, as it presses
out when you roll ; if the meat is not long, and difficult to roll nicely, cut
a few pockets in it and fill with the dressing; then roll very tightly,
fastening with skewers and bmding with strong string round and round.
Any of the dressing that has squeezed out press back into the open ends
of the roll ; remove the skewers ; then tie up in cheesecloth, cover with
cold water, bring slowly to a simmer, and let it cook at this point four
hours. Remove the cheesecloth, put the meat on a tray, place a heavy
weight on it and leave it over night. Cut off the string. Serve cold,
cutting thin slices off the end, showing the dressing.

Brown Stew. — A piece of tough steak. can be very well cooked in this
way : Brown a tablespoonfui of sugar in the kettle and add a sliced
onion; when brown cool and add for each pound of beef cut in small bits
s tablespoonfui of flour and one of butter or suet. Add a pint of boiling
water, stir well and add the bits of meat. Put in half of a bay leaf or a

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 23

pinch of celery seed. Cook very slowly for an hour. Just before serving
add a teaspoonful of salt. The meat will be tender, the flavor excellent.
The browned sugar, or caramel, as cooks call it, does not give a percep-
tibly sweet flavor, but gives ? different taste, and makes brown gravy.

Brunswick Stew. — Stew a large fowl until the meat leaves the bone;
remove skin, gristle and bones and chop the meat in coarse pieces. Return
to the liquor; add a pint of corn scraped from the ears, a pint of young
Lima beans, three cupfuls of tomato, a good-sized onion, minced fine, a
pint of young okras, a small red pepper, minced, a little celery seed, two
tablespoonfuls of butter and salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce to
taste. Simmer until okra is tender and then serve. The addition of n
little paprika just before the stew is taken up improves it greatly.

Belgian Hare. — If you broil see that the hares are young, under four
or five months, and therefore tender. After a brief soaking in water into
which no soda or salt has been put (if the hares are young they have
no unpalatable flavor and consequently great care must be taken to pre-
serve their natural delicacy), dry well with a clean cloth, and gash them
down the back through the thickest portion; then flatten each, place it
on a gridiron, and broil it over a bed of coals, turning often, or you may
lay them smooth on the bottom of a dripping pan and cook in a hot
oven without basting; oil the pan slightly with a little sweet dripping,
or a bit of fresh butter; they should be done in half an hour.

Stewed. — Cut the hares into joints, drop into a pot and cover with
boiling water; then slice in an onion and a bit of bacon, and stew slowly
one hour or until tender. As old hares are best stewed, it will do no
harm to put in a young chicken, stewing all together. At the end of
half an hour add a few potatoes, peeled, and cut in quarters, and, if liked,
some small bits of light paste, after the potatoes get fairly boiling. When
all are done, stir in a little cream thickened with white flour, boil up a
moment and dish for the table.

Fried. — Disjoint, cut uniform pieces, cover with boiling water, and
let it simmer until quite tender. Then remove carefully to a dry dish.
Dredge well with flour, and drop into very hot butter to brown. Serve
with gravy made from the liquor in which it was boiled and cream. Two
tablespoonfuls of vinegar added while boiling are an improvement.

Roast Hare. — Make a dressing of fine dry bread crumbs; part graham
is best. Add to the crumbs a small lump of fresh butter, a little dry
sage (or other herb, if preferred), and moisten well with tepid water,
stirring well as you add it. Do not put in too much water ; have the
dressing light and flaky, not wet and heavy. The large and delicious
liver of the hare, having been thoroughly steamed will add an unwonted
zest if chopped into bits and put into the stuffing. Fill the hares with
this, leaving plenty of room for the dressing to swell, sew up, put the

24 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

hares into a dripping pan, add a cupful of boiling water, and roast as
slowly as possible during the first half hour. Baste every 15 or 20 min-
utes, turning as needed, and if any part browns too fast, cover it with. a
clean napkin wet in warm water and folded two or three times. Allow
from one to two hours for roasting; test with a fork to ascertain when
the hares are done; take them out of the pan and make the gravy, drain
the grease all off and set the pan on the stove ; then put in any tid-bits
(as the liver, etc.), and the liquor in which they are boiled; thicken with
a little browned flour wet with milk or water, and boil up a moment.

Canning Meat. — Half cook the meat in a kettle, cut meat from the
bcnes. If this is done while the meat is hot, wring out a cloth from
cold or tepid water, fold in several thicknesses, and set under the glass
can, letting cloth come up about an inch around sides of can, and it will
not break, no matter how hot the meat may be. If you spill more broth
on the cloth be sure to wring out extra water from it, for if the cloth
is sopping wet, the can will break. Having filled can with meat, pour in
all the broth the can will hold, and see that it is salted and peppered
just right for the table. Screw on cover without rubber and, if hot put in
kettle partly filled with hot water, putting a tin in bottom of kettle to
set cans on. Three quarts can be put in com.mon-sized kettle. Cover
with a well-fitting cover that will keep in the steam, and keep boiling for
two hours. Take out one can at a time, and at once put on a good rubber.
If you want to keep the meat for several months, if it is chicken, veal or
beef, have hot melted beef suet and fill the cans even full. If you only
care to keep the meat for two or three weeks fill up even full with boiling
broth. This work must be done with dispatch, not letting the contents
of the can cool in the least. Screw on the cover to the last limit, and
if your covers and rubbers are not defective your meat will keep per-
fectly. In canning pork there is nearly always sufficient grease to broth;
if not the can may be filled with lard.

Canning Meat in Tins. — Trim off all surplus tallow from meat, and
either boil or roast the beef, using but little salt and pepper, preferably
none at all, as these will attack the tin ; meat can be spiced, etc., when
removed from can to serve. When cooked remove from liquid and trim
off from bones. If liquid is too greasy let it get cold and then remove
tallow. While again heating liquid and meat boiling hot get the cans and
covers ready, the covers to be pierced by an awl in the center. Use the
friction top tin can only, for keeping meat through the Summer and dog
days. You can use glass jars to keep same till May, but they are risky
during warm weather. When meat and liquid are hot pack meat into the
cans — any size you wish — not quite full, and pour liquid over same so as
to cover meat somewhat, then place on the covers good and tight. Put
cans into oven and bake one to two hours. If cans are too full, liquid

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 25

will ooze through vent. The baking will drive out every particle or atom
of air through vent, and is absolutely necessary for safety. When nearly
done baking liquefy some paraffin or sealing wax, and heat a soldering
iron. The paraffin is t-o seal cover airtight around edge, and the soldering
iron to use with solder to close up vent opening in center. Take out of
oven a can at a time and solder vent opening as quickly as possible, then
paraffin the edge of cover. Place cans — after finishing job — where it is
dry and cool. A steer can be packed into about 50 or 60 quart cans.

Chicken Baked in Milk. — ^Dress and joint a chicken of four to six
pounds, dust each piece with salt and pepper, and roll in fiour. Put the
chicken in a roasting pan or casserole that it will half fill, then pour over
it enough sweet milk to cover the chicken completely. Put a close-fitting
lid on the baker, and put it in the oven, cooking the chicken until tender;
it will take from two to 2^ hours. This requires but little attention while
cooking, the meat is tender and juicj-, and the gravy delicious. It is an
excellent way to cook an elderly fowl; a young bird will, of course, cook
in a shorter time. As it really gains in flavor by being warmed over, it
can be cooked on Saturday for the Sunday dinner, thus lessening work.

Broiled Chicken. — Take- broilers of suitable age or size, dress in the
usual way, split down the back and remove breast bone^ which can be
easily done by running finger along it. Place right side up in dripping
pan, season with plenty of butter, pepper and salt ; put in a hot oven
for 20 minutes to "draw" or heat well through. Take out ; if cooking
with gas turn, and put under flame a few minutes to brown ; then brown
the top, but do not burn. If cooking on stove with fuel proceed the same
way on toaster or gridiron.

Broiled Chicken, O. W. Mapes's Recipe. — The first essential of course
is to have a nice fat chicken. This should be split through the back and
laid in a shallow basin. Now place the basin containing the chicken in a
steamer and steam for an hour and a half. The basin will catch all the
juices which drip from the meat. These should all be saved and used in
making the gravy. As soon as it is steamed sufficiently place in a well-
buttered pan and fry until well browned ; remove the meat and add the
juices from steaming to make a good gravy. This method never has
failed to bring satisfaction to both cook and guests. Possibly it would
be equally as good with older birds by allowing more time in the steaming.
Spring Chicken Fried in Cream. — Put a pint of rich cream in a frying
pan over a moderate fire till it begins to color, dip the different parts of
the chicken in flour, fry in the cream on each side till it is a delicate brown.
When done put it on a hot platter, pour another half pint of cream into
the pan, let it boil one minute, add a saltspoonful of salt, a dash of
pepper, then pour it over the chicken. Serve garnished with sprigs of
parsley and a dish of puffed potato slices.

26 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Jugged Chicken.— Cut the bird up as for a fricassee. To every pound
allow two heaping teaspoonfuls of flour, one scant teaspoonful of salt
and one-quarter teaspoonful of pepper; mix thoroughly and roll each
piece of chicken in the mixture, then pack closely in a large bean-pot;
cover with boiling water and bake in a good oven until tender — from two
to three hours. When placed in the pot sprinkle in a tablespoonful of
minced onion. When done remove to a hot platter, thicken the liquor
for gravy and serve in a boat.

Chicken Loaf. — Mince fine two cupfuls of cold cooked chicken, one
pound of lean veal and one-fourth pound of fat salt pork. Work in these
three beaten eggs, a cupful of seasoned and strained tomato sauce, one
teaspoonful of grated lemon peel, one teaspoonful of salt, one-fourth
teaspoonful of paprika and enough cracker crumbs to mold with the hands.
Press firmly into a large wet bowl, invert carefully into a buttered baking
pan, removing bowl. Add one cupful of water and one tablespoonful of
butter to the pan. Sift buttered crumbs lightly over the loaf and cover
the top and sides with carefully peeled and sliced lemons. Bake V/z
hour in a moderate oven, browning it nicely before serving. Baste fre-
quently with the liquor. Serve garnished with lemon slices and parsley.

Paprika Chicken. — This is a favorite Hungarian dish. Cut a nice
tender chicken into pieces as for a fricassee; flatten a little, such pieces
as need it. Season each piece with salt and pepper, and dredge it lightly
with flour, while you fry a minced onion in two tablespoonfuls of butter.
Lay the chicken in the butter and onion, cooking for 20 minutes, so it will
be evenly and thoroughly done. Take up the chicken and stir in an even
teaspoonful of salt and a very scant teaspoonful of paprika, or half a
scant teaspoonful of good mild cayenne pepper of any kind. Add last
of all a cupful of rich cream. Make some dumplings of a pint of sifted
flour, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, a saltspoonful of salt and
butter the size of half an tgg; moisten the dumplings with a cupful of
milk, and drop them over the sauce. Let them cook well, covered for
50 minutes, when they will be well puffed up and light. Pour the sauce
around the chicken and make a circle of the dumplings. If the dumplings
are steamed over the cream sauce so they do not sink into it they will
be lighter.

Panned Fowl with Oysters. — Cut the fowl into pieces suitable for
serving; lay them in a baking dish, flesh side down; season with a tea-
spoonful of salt, a fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper and cover with thin
slices of salt pork. Put one cupful of boiling water in the pan, cover
closely and bake in a hot oven half an hour (for young chickens). Remove
the cover and baste every 10 minutes for another half hour, turning the
pieces so they will brown. Remove to a hot platter, add half a cupful of
rich milk or cream to the gravy in the pan, first skimming off all fat;

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 27

place on the top of the range and stir in a tablespoonful of flour and same
of butter blended together; when it boils add a cupful of well-washed
(and cleaned from shells) oysters; watch carefully and as soon as the
oysters are plump remove them from the fire; add a teaspoonful of
finely-chopped parsley and a tablespoonful of lemon juice. Pour around
the fowl; garnish with celery tips. An old fowl will require longer
cooking.

Chicken Pie, Southern Style. — Select a fowl weighing four or five
pounds ; clean carefully, singe and put it on in boiling water enough to
cover it, and let it sim.mer gently until it begins to grow tender. Save
this broth with the giblets. Now cut the chicken in small pieces ; slice a
quarter of a pound of fat pork very thin and fry it with the chicken
until it is brown. After the chicken and pork are fried take them up
and stir into the pan in which they were cooked a tablespoonful of flour.
Stir it over the fire until brown ; then add a pint of the chicken broth, a
teaspoonful of salt, quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper. Stir this gravy
until it has boiled two minutes and use it for pie. To make the crust :
Mix together in a bowl with a knife one pound of flour, one teaspoonful
of salt, two teaspoonfuls of butter, and just enough cold water to hold
it together. Roll it out about an inch thick; cut a quarter of a pound
of butter in large slices, and lay it all over the paste; fold it up and
wrap in a floured towel and put in the ice box for half an hour. Roll
it out, repeating same with another quarter of a pound of butter; roll it
to a thickness of half an inch, fold it in three thicknesses and roll it out
again. If the butter breaks through, fold it again in a towel and cool for
half an hour before using. Line a deep dish ; then put in alternate layers
of chicken, pork and sliced raw potatoes ; pour in as much gravy as the
dish will hold. Sprinkle with a little chopped parsley, a dash more pepper
and salt, and cover with a top crust, wetting the edges to make them
adhere. Cut a hole in the top to allow the steam to escape.

Chicken Potpie with Stirred Dumplings. — Cut up the fowl for serving,
wash, put in a deep stewpan, and add three pints of boiling water, salt,
pepper and a bay leaf. Cook one large onion, and about three slices each
of turnip and carrot, in a tablespoonful of butter, and cook till soft;
mash and add to stew; then dip out two tablespoonfuls of the fat from
the stew, put with the butter, and when boiling stir in three tablespoonfuls
of flour. Stir over the fire till brown, then stir into the chicken to
thicken it. A year-old chicken will need two hours' cooking; it should
only simmer, without hard boiling. For dumplings, into a quart of wheat
flour sift two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder and a half tea-
spoonful of salt. Sift at least three times. Then stir in rich, sweet milk
to make a batter, not thick as can be stirred nor yet soft enough to run.
Drop in spoonfuls over the top of the boiling potpie a half hour before

28 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

dinner time. Should there be so much gravy that the batter would sink
beneath its surface remove a bowlful. Cover closely and keep constantly
boiling. Serve the dinner on a large meat platter, arranging the dumplings
about its border, heaping the meat and potatoes in the center and serving
the gravy from a gravy boat. In taking up the dumplings tear them apart
with two forks instead of using a knife or spoon.

Smothered Chicken. — Have a year-old chicken split as for broiling.
Wipe dry, spread it liberally with butter all over, dust with flour and
pepper, and place, skin side down, in a dripping pan (over a meat rack).
Pour in a cupful boiling water, add a few sprigs of parsley, cover closely
and bake in a hot oven one hour. Then turn the chicken skin side up,
sprinkle with a half teaspoonful of salt, and brown uncovered, 10 or 15
minutes. Cut up the giblets, which have been cooked tender in one pint
of water, add a level dessertspoonful flour and a lump of butter the size
of an egg with the water from the giblets, which will be reduced to about
a cupful, and stir all in the dripping pan, seasoning with a saltspoonful
of salt, a good dash of pepper, parsley or sweet marjoram. Joint the
chicken that it may be easily carved, but do* not separate it. Serve on a
platter with the gravy poured around.

Victoria Chicken. — Procure a young chicken of three and one-half
pounds in weight, singe, draw and wash it, cut the chicken into 10 pieces,
season with half teaspoonful pepper, and half tablespoonful of salt; rub
the seasoning and the chicken well together. Cut half pound bacon into
slices, remove the rind and place the bacon in a pan of boiling water, let
it lie five minutes, then drain. Put the bacon into a saucepan and fry to
a delicate brown, then take out the bacon. Put the chicken into the bacon
fat, add half tablespoonful butter, cover and cook slowly for 30 minutes,
turning the chicken with a fork three times during that time, then lay
the chicken in a round pan with the slices of bacon between, pour over
three cups of cream, cover the pan and bake one hour in a medium-hot
oven. When ready to serve lay the chicken on a hot dish, and lay six
bread croutons in a circle around the dish, strain the sauce over the
chicken and serve.

Deviled Mutton. — This is a nice way to warm up cold roast mutton 6t
lamb. Put one teaspoonful of chopped onion into a stewpah with otie
ounce of butter. Place it over a slow fire, keep the onions stirred until
rather brown, then add some flour, mix it in well and fry for five min-
utes ; then pour in one-half pint of gravy well seasoned, and let it boil
until thickened and brown; add one teaspoonful of sugar and one of
vinegar, one of Worcestershire sauce, a few chopped gherkins and a few
button mushrooms if at hand; put in the mutton, which has been pre-
viously sliced in thin slices and perfectly free from fat; let it remain a
few minutes and simmer, not boil.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 29

Flank Steak, Rolled. — Spread a steak weighing about 2^^ pounds with
a dressing composed of V/i cupful bread crumbs — dip the crusts previously
in boiling water that they may easily crumble — one medium-sized onion,
two tablespoonfuls canned tomato, one beaten o^gg, one tablespoonful
butter, one teaspoonful salt, one-quarter teaspooriful pepper. Stir egg
with bread, add the onion sliced, tomato, butter and seasoning. After
spreading roll snugly and tie with pieces of string. Lay three slices of
salt pork on top, place in dripping pan with one-half cupful water. Roast
slowly one hour. May be eaten hot with gravy, or cold.

Goulash. — Cut two leeks or onions, small-sized ones, into fine pieces,
and fry them in hot butter till they are brown. Add one cupful of beef
broth, a little salt, half a teaspoonful of paprika or red pepper, and
half a teaspoonful of browned flour. Stir until smooth, then strain.
Have ready one-half pound of raw steak, cut into quarter-inch squares.
The better the steak, necessarily, the better tlie result will be, and there-
fore porterhouse is preferred. Toss the meat into a frying pan just long
enough to cook the outside, tlien add the sauce. Add two warm boiled
potatoes, cut into good-sized pieces, and let the pan remain on the back
of the stove 15 minutes before serving.

Goose, Braised. — Braised goose is superior to a roast, in the taste of
many, the bird acquiring flavor from the vegetables with it. The oven
is the place for the cooking, and a porcelain-lined iron pot or earthen
cooking crock (either having a tight-fitting cover) gives the best results.
Prepare the goose as for roasting, but do not stuff. In the baking dish
put a layer of chopped or sliced onions, celery, turnips, carrots and two
apples. Sprinkle with a teaspoonful of salt, one of powdered sage and
six shakes of pepper. Lay the goose upon them, pour over it two cupfuls
of boiling water, dredge with salt, pepper, powdered sage and flour. Cover
closely and cc^k slowly for at least four hours (allow 25 minutes to the
pound). Turn the goose every two hours. Add more water if necessary.
Less time is required if a roaster is used. When tender, remove the
goose. Rub the vegetables and gravy through a colander, return to the
fire and stir in a tablespoonful of browned flour. Boil up once and serve
in a boat. Garnish the goose with parsley.

Gumbo. — This takes four hours to make. Put into a kettle two pounds
of lean soup beef, one-half a chicken that has been jointed, a small ham
bone, or a good-sized slice of lean bacon, a slice of green pepper and a
square inch of onion. Add three quarts of water and boil or simmer
gently, skimming often for two hours. At the end of this time add three
pints of okra that has first been cut in slices and fried lightly in a very
small amount of butter, also a large potato cut in pieces, which gradually
breaks and thickens the soup. An hour later, after frequent skimmings,
add a full quart of tomatoes and the corn cut from two large ears, also

30 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

the cobs, and boil gently for another hour. Then remove the corncobs
and what is left of the beef, and the chicken bones, leaving the chicken
meat in the stew; season with salt, cayenne pepper, a teaspoonful of
Worcestershire sauce and a teaspoonful of sugar, and it is ready to serve.
Dry boiled rice is nice served with this gumbo, which is a stew rather
than a soup. Many recipes for gumbo call for a small quantity of "fillet
powder" ; this is the tender young green leaves of sassafras powdered.

Ham, Curing. — This is a Virginia method. For curing four hams,
averaging 12 pounds each, have ready one and a half gallons of the best
salt, one pound of good brown sugar, one-eighth pound of powdered
saltpeter, one ounce of black pepper and one-half ounce of cayenne. Cut
the joints into proper shapes, without unnecessary bone and fat, and lay
them on a board on table. First rub the skin well with salt and lay
each joint aside, then begin over again, and into the fleshy side of each
ham rub two teaspoonfuls of saltpeter and a tablespoonful of brown
sugar mixed together. Rub the pepper, particularly, about the hock and
under the bone and give to the whole ham a good application of salt.
Now pack the hams, one upon another, the skin side downward, with a
layer of salt between, into a tub or box, the bottom of which has also
been covered with salt. The process of salting will be complete in five
weeks. At the end of that time have ready about a peck of hickory
ashes ; clean the hams with a brush or dry cloth and rub them with the
ashes. To smoke the hams the joints should be hung from joists beneath
the ceiling and a slow, smothered fire kept up for five or six weeks, so
as to smoke thoroughly, but not overheat the hams. Or, as an excellent
substitute for this process, paint the hams with a coating of pyroligneous
acid, let them dry and repeat the operation. Wrap each ham in paper
and encase it in a canvas or strong cotton bag.

A simple way to salt bacon and hams in brine is to rub the meat well
with salt, especially into the exposed ends of bones, and then pack into
a barrel, with a layer of salt between each piece. Allow the meat to
remain thus for 48 hours, then pour over all a brine strong enough to
bear up an tgg. Let the meat remain in pickle six weeks ; then smoke.

Molasses pickle is made as follows : To four quarts of fine salt and
two ounces of pulverized saltpeter add enough molasses to make a paste.
Hang the hams in a cool dry place for three or four days after cutting
up; then cover with the pickle mixture, thickest on the flesh side, and lay
them skin down for three or four days. For 100 pounds of ham make
brine in the following proportion: Seven pounds coarse salt; two ounces
saltpeter; one-half ounce pearlash; four gallons soft water. Heat grad-
ually, removing all scum as it arises, then cool. Pack the hams in a
barrel, pour the brine over them, and keep in pickle five to eight weeks,
according to size.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 31

Ham, Sugar Cured. — To 50 pounds of ham or "side bacon" allow three
pounds of sugar and a pint of molasses, six pounds of salt, one fuld
tablespoonful of saleratus and the same of saltpeter. Cover the bottom
of your firkin with salt (about two pounds). Mix sugar, molasses, salt-
peter, saleratus and the remaining salt into a paste. Rub each piece
thoroughly with this, work it in well and hard, and pack into the firkin,
the rind downward. Cover all with cold water — just enough to rise above
the meat. Lay a heavy board on top, weight it with a stone to keep the
meat under water, and leave it thus for four weeks, turning the meat and
stirring up the pickle every week. Take out, then wipe, rub into the
pieces as much dry salt and an equal quantity of sugar as they will take
up; pack in a dry firkin and leave for 24 hours before sending to the
smokehouse.

Hamburg Steak, Baked. — One and one-half pound raw chopped beef,
two cupfuls of stale bread softened with half a cupful of hot milk and
cooled, two eggs, small onion minced, teaspoonful of salt, saltspoonful
of pepper and pinch of ginger. Mix well and shape into a square; place
m baking pan with a tablespoonful of tomato, small onion and butter
the size of a walnut on top of meat. Bake one hour, basting frequently.
The potatoes should be boiled 15 minutes, then drained, pared and placed
in pan with the Hamburg steak to cook 45 minutes, being turned and
basted often. Medium-sized potatoes are best for this. Serve arranged
around the meat.

Hungarian Hamburg Steak. — Beat an egg into a bowl, stir in bread
crumbs (about a cupful), a small onion, grated, salt and paprika (a mild-
flavored cayenne pepper). The meat is stirred into this, and after thor-
ough mixing is formed into a ball. An onion is fried brown in butter,
put into an earthen saucepan with a tight-fitting cover, and the meat ball
is added, with two tomatoes cut into quarters around it. After simmering
for half an hour the meat is turned gently, so as not to break the ball,
then allowed to cook quietly for nearly an hour, and served with the
vegetables as a garnish.

Senator Hanna's Hash. — This is the recipe given by the Boston Cook-
ing School. Take equal portions of tender boiled corned beef and mealy
boiled potatoes. Cut the potatoes into small cubes and the meat as fine
as possible. Mix thoroughly with these a small onion, chopped very fine ;
a slice of onion is often sufficient. Butter a hot frying pan and turn into
it chopped materials. Press into the center of the mass a clove of garlic,
wrapped in a piece of salt pork or mild cured bacon. Set over a moderate
fire, cover and let cook, adding a small quantity of water, if moist hash
is preferred; when heated, stir, remove the garlic and give the whole
round shape. Let stand in the oven until browned underneath, then
carefully slide on a serving dish. While the hash is cooking cut one or

32 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

two Bermuda onions into thin slices and fry until crisp in deep fat. Use
these as a garnish for the hash (or omit if preferred). Serve with lemon
quarters.

Hot-Pot. — Two pounds of cross-rib is cut in small pieces and put in
an earthen saucepan, with two minced onions, five or six small green pep-
pers, whole, a few chives, a handful of seeded raisins, a cupful of to-
matoes, peeled and sliced, eight or 10 olives, a bit of thyme, a big table -
spoonful of drippings, salt to taste, and a cupful of vinegar and water.
The pot is covered tightly, and the mixture simmered slowly until the
meat is cooked to pieces ; then a tablespoonful of butter well coated with
flour is stirred in to thicken the gravy.

Liver and Bacon in Casserole. — Slice liver about half an inch thick,
and put in a buttered saucepan, peppering lightly. Over the liver lay a
dozen thin slices of bacon, and strew these with chopped onion and par-
sley. Cover closely and cook slowly for about two hours. The cooking
must not be hurried. When ready to serve the liver, let the gravy, with
the bacon in it, boil hard for two minutes, then pour it over the the
liver in the serving dish.

Liver, Fried in New Orleans Style. — Cut a pound of calf's liver in half-
inch cubes. After washing and draining, place in a bowl which has been
rubbed with an onion. Between two layers of liver place a layer of
chopped onion and parsley, sprinkling with salt and dusting lightly with
cayenne. After half an hour take out the liver and shake off all the
onion. Roll lightly in flour and drop into a deep kettle of boiling fat.
Drain on paper and serve very hot with lemon. The liver cooks to de-
licious tenderness and delicacy of flavor.

Calves' Liver, English Style. — Two pounds of fresh liver, one-half
pound fat salt pork, one spoonful of butter, half an onion, one spoonful
chopped parsley and pepper. Put the butter in a warm, not hot, sauce-
pan, cut the liver into slices half an inch thick and lay upon the butter;
mince the pork and cover the liver; sprinkle the parsley and onion with
pepper on top; cover the saucepan closely and set it into a kettle of hot
water; keep this water below the boiling point for an hour, then let it
boil another hour; the liver will by this time be very tender and juicy
if the heat has been properly adjusted. Take it out and place it in a
dish to keep warm. Thicken the gravy with brown butter and pour over
the liver and serve.

English Meat Pie.— Chop cold beef finely, put in a deep baking dish
a layer of the meat, strew lightly with bread crumbs, season highly with
salt, pepper, butter and a few drops of onion juice; repeat the process
till the dish is full or your meat used up. Pour over it a cup of stock
or gravy, or, lacking these, hot water with a teaspoonful of butter melted
in it; on top a good layer of bread crumbs should be put and seasoned

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. S3

and dotted with butter. Cover and bake half an hour; remove the cover
and brown.

Mock Duck. — Four pork tenderloins; slash lengthwise, rub with salt
and pepper, fill with dressing made of bread crumbs, one onion, one egg,
one-half cupful butter, salt and pepper to taste; tie together and bake in
roaster. Serve with hot apple sauce made as follows: Pare and quarter
(if large, cut in eighths) as many apples as the family appetite requires.
Fut a layer of apples in a granite or enameled shallow pan, put bits of
butter, goodly supply sugar and dash of cinnamon on the apples. Do this
in layers till pan is full; add a little water and bake till rich and clear,
not just barely done.

Mutton Mince With Eggs. — Scrape every morsel of meat from the
bone, crack the latter, cover with cold water and let it simmer at the
hack of the stove for four or five hours. Strain off the cupful of liquid
and thicken with a lump of butter rolled in browned flour; season with
salt, pepper and tomato catsup; stir into it the cold mutton cut small
and a handful of bread crumbs, strewing some of these on top; bake
until the surface bubbles, drop four or five eggs upon the top, pepper
and salt them, set back in the oven and leave there until the eggs are
"set."

Mutton Pie. — A mutton pie made from the neck of mutton is as
savory as it is economical. Cut off the spine bone and the scrag end,
shorten the ribs to about three inches, but save all these trimmings to
make the gravy for the pie. Cut the mutton into neat chops, pare off
the fat, season with salt and pepper and place in the deep pie dish in a
circle, one lapping over the other. Fill the center with tiny potato balls
cut out with the cutter; add the mutton gravy which has been boiled to
make the quantity required, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover with good
pie crust brushed over with the yolk of an tgg and bake for an hour
and a half in a moderate oven.

Ragout of Mutton. — Use two pounds of mutton from the shoulder or
breast. Cut in small pieces, about two inches square. Cut up some of
the mutton fat which has not touched the skin and fry slowly in a pan
until there is about a gill of liquid fat; take out the solid pieces and put
in the mutton and stir until it becomes brown. Take the meat from the
fat, being careful to press out all the fat. To the fat add one pint of
turnip cubes and two tablespoonfuls of onion cut fine; cook slowly for
10 minutes, then take them oqt and put in the stew pan with the meat.
Pour the fat from the frying pan and put in two tablespoonfuls of butter
and the same amount of flour; stir until brown, when add one quart of
boiling water. When this thickens add it to the meat and vegetables with
a rounding teaspoonful of salt and one-third of a teaspoonful of pepper.
Simmer for three hours, covered.

34 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

"Pawnhas."— This old-fashioned dish is similar to scrapple. Boil to-
gether the "jowls," liver and heart of a hog until very tender. Take out
all bones, chop the heart and meat from jowls until very fine;; crumble
the liver as finely as possible and put all back into the kettle. Now
season with pepper and salt, and be sure to add enough v/ater to keeip
it from being too rich or greasy. Stir in white cornmeal until you have
a thin mush, let cook slowly half an hour, pour into a large crock or
jar; set away to cool. When cold, slice like mush and put into a skillet
to fry. Add no grease. This is delicious and will keep indefinitely in
a cool place.

Pigeons, Potted. — Place six cleaned birds in a deep kettle with one
pint of vinegar and three onions, halved; let stand over night, then throw
the vinegar and onions away. Brown six slices of pork and two onions,
sliced; place in the kettle with the pigeons; add one pint of hot water,
salt and pepper; cover and simmer about two hours; serve the pigeons
on a hot dish about a mound of parsley; strain the liquor, thicken, and
pass in a gravy boat.

Pigs' Feet in Jelly. — Thoroughly scrape and clean one dozen pigs' feet.
Place them in a kettle, cover with boiling water, add one tablespoonful
of salt and simmer steadily until tender. Transfer the feet to a stone
crock, placing between them thin slices of Qnion. Heat and boil to-
gether for five minutes two quarts of good vinegar, one bay leaf, two
tablespoonfuls of sugar, one dozen whole cloves, six tiny red peppers, and
one-half teaspoonful of salt. Add one quart of boiling water and pour
at once over the pigs' feet. Cover and let stand two days before using.

Pilgrim Pie. — Cut a two-pound piece of fresh pork into dice, after it
is cooked, and prepare the following crust : One pint mashed potatoes,
owe-half teaspoonful salt, one tablespoonful butter, one-fourth teaspoon-
ful pepper, one-fourth cup of milk, one level teaspoonful baking powder,
and enough flour to make a crust which can be easily rolled out one
inch thick. Put alternate layers, in a baking dish, of the diced pork,
raw oysters, minced parsley, a light dusting of Summer savory, finely
shredded onion, with salt and pepper to suit, and one tablespoonful but-
ter; cover with a brown sauce; fit a cover of the potato biscuit and bake
in hot oven 20 minutes. Five minutes before it is finished draw out, cover
with fine cracker crumbs mixed with one tgg; return to the oven to
finish browning; garnish with parsley. This potato crust is excellent for
any meat pie.

Pork With Corn Dumplings.^Cook ai piece of shoulder of pork in a
big pot until tender ; then mix the desired quantity of cornmeal to a
thick dough as in making bread (the addition of an tgg to the dough im-
proves the dumplings). Drop balls of the dough about the size of a
walnut in the boiling water about the meat in the pot and cook 20 min-

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 35

utes, when the dumplings will be done, and will have a thick gravy
around them. Take care not to let the mixture burn. The fat and
juices of the meat season the dumplings excellently.

Rabbit, Jugged. — Select a plump tender rabbit. Wash, wipe dry, and
cut into well-shaped pieces. Have ready a teaspoonful of salt and one-
fourth teaspoonful of pepper and rub this into the rabbit pieces. Put
four tablespoonfuls of flour on a plate and roll each piece in this. Heat
half a cupful of butter in frying pan; when hot fry the rabbit, browning
on both sides, being careful not to burn the butter. As soon as it
browns put the rabbit into a stewpan and into the hot butter stir what is
left of the flour in which the rabbit was rolled; add three teacupfuls hot
water and cook 10 minutes. Pour this over the rabbit, adding two
cloves, one-half bayleaf, two or three allspice, one teaspoonful salt, one-
fourth teaspoonful pepper, a slice or two of onion. Cover closely and
simmer for an hour and a half. Add one teaspoonful lemon juice and
one tablespoonful good catsup. Remove the rabbit to a hot platter;
strain what liquid is left, add to it a teaspoonful each of butter and flour
rubbed smooth and a cupful of hot water; boil up once, pour over the
rabbit and serve.

Rabbit, Breaded. — Dress the rabbit, then let it soak over night in cold
salt water. Cut into neat pieces, and boil gently until tender in clear
water to which an onion has been added. Let it cool and drain; then
dip in well-beaten tg^, roll in cracker crumbs and fry In hot butter.
Serve with cranberry sauce. Barbecued rabbit, a favorite southern dish,
may also be recommended: Lay the rabbit in salt and water 30 minutes,
then scald with boiling water and wipe dry, rub well with butter, and
sprinkle with pepper and salt. Broil until quite brown, and lay on a
hot dish ; butter plentifully on both sides. Prepare a sauce of four tea-
spoonfuls of vinegar, one teaspoonful of made mustard, one of currant
jelly and one of walnut catsup. Pour this hot over the rabbit.

Ragout with Dumplings.— Get a piece of nice, fresh round steak,
about one and one-half pound (cut thick). Cut it into pieces about an
inch square, smother it with flour, well seasoned with salt and red pep-
per. Brown in the frying pan one large onion or two small ones, with
about one large tablespoonful of butter; then add the steak and brown.
Put the whole into a granite saucepan, pour over it five pints of boiling
water and simmer two hours. About 20 minutes before serving make
dumplings as follows: A cup of flour sifted with a little salt and a half
teaspoonful of baking powder, and rub in a teaspoonful of butter. Mix
very soft with milk— so soft that it is slightly sticky; drop by small
spoonfuls into the stew and cover tightly until served.

Sausage.— This is a Virginia recipe. To every 10 pounds of meat
use three ounces of salt, one of black pepper, one-half ounce of sage

36 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

rubbed fine. Having all ingredients weighed, put a layer of the meat
cut in strips, sprinkle the mixed seasoning over it, another layer of meat
with more seasoning, distributing as evenly as possible. Run twice
throungh the grinder, and when it is put on the table it is surprising
to see how quickly it vanishes. Ordinary pork sausage, smoked in bags,
makes a desirable change, and keeps well. Pack the sausage meat in
small bags of coarse, strong muslin, the size selected being that most
convenient for slicing; small salt sacks, well washed, may answer. Close
the bags, and then smoke, just like ham, the amount of smoking depend-
mg on the family taste. When used, split down the seam of the bag
for convenience in cutting the slices, and fry like ham.

Sausage, Bologna. — Six pounds of lean beef; one pound salt pork;
three pounds lean fresh pork; one pound beef suet; one ounce white pep-
per; one teaspoonful ground mace; three ounces salt; one teaspoonful
cayenne; one large onion chopped fine. Chop the meat and suet sep-
arately very fine, then mix; add all the seasoning, and m.ix thoroughly.
Fill into casings and tie into lengths, or use strong linen bags. Make a
brine that will bear an egg; put the sausage into it, and let stand two
v/eeks, turning and skimming every day. At the end of the first week
throw away the old brine, and put the sausage into new for the second
week; then smoke for a week. When smoked rub over the outside with
olive oil, and store in a cool, dark dry place. If you wish to keep the
sausage for any length of time sprinkle the outside with pepper.

Sausage, Frankfurter. — Chop up pork, lean meat and fat (ham can
be used) in the proportion of four pounds lean to one of fat. To a
pound of the mixture season with salt, 11 grams, one-half gram salt-
petre, two grams white pepper and one-half gram cloves. Mix the whole
so intimately that "you cannot tell the fat pieces from the lean." The
more thorough the mixing the better the result. If the mixing is not
free, you can add a little water, but do not overdo this. If too "waxy"
from excess of fat, add lean; or, the other way, if too meaty. Use pig's
cases for the filling. Tie the sausage in length desired. Hang the links
well apart in the smokehouse. Tolerable heat will do them rightly
enough, but if you want the deep rich tint of brown, you will have to
finish them off over a brick fire. It is hard to fix the temperature,
as the smokehouse in the open will be cooler than the one indoors. Test
the state by running a quill in and examining the extract by the taste,
sight and smell. Sometimes they are put in bundles of 10 or 12 folded
together and pressed to flatten. Keep in a box under weight before put-
ting in the smoke.

Sausage, Holland Home. — Grind, mix and season the meat as de-
sired. Instead of stuffing "cases," pack in half-gallon stone jars (but-
ter jars). Bake four hours in a moderately hot oven. Remove from

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 37

the oven and press with a heavy weight 12 hours — over night usually.
Then remove the weight. There will be some fat, but not enough to
cover it. Heat lard to the boiling point and pour over enough to cover.
This seals— excludes the air. Keep in a cool place. Beef or pork may be
kept in this way indefinitely.

Oxford Sausage.— One pound each of finely chopped veal, pork and
beef suet. Mix through this one quart of bread crumbs, grated peel of
half a lemon, a grated nutmeg, a sprig each of savory, thyme and sweet
marjoram and a tablespoonful of powdered sage leaves. Make in cakes
and fry in very little hot butter.

Sausage, Pork and Beef. — For 10 pounds of sausage use seven and
one-half pounds of pork and two and a half of beef; grind fine, add two
tablespoonfuls of salt, one teaspoonful each of pepper, allspice, cloves and
sage. Heat all together until so hot you cannot hold your finger in it.
Turn into stone jars that have been thoroughly scalded and aired, cover
with cheesecloth and pour hot suet over the cloth. When any is wanted
for use, take out and make into cakes and fry.

Summer Sausage. — ^Use any recipe you like best, but use cloth casings
made from muslin, casings to have a diameter of three to four inches,
and length to fit a baking pan. Casings are easily made with sewing
machine. Smoke the finished sausage to your heart's content. After
smoking let sausage dry sufficiently, which takes four or five weeks, de-
pending on where hung to dry. The sausage should be fit for eating,
which can readily be ascertained by cutting one through. When dry
enough melt a quantity of paraffin — about one-half pound for a dozen
sausages — put in baking pan, then place the sausages therein and roll
about in the hot paraffin, one at a time. Hang up in a dry place and
they will keep nicely and indefinitely.

Virginia Beef Sausage. — Mix two cupfuls of finely-chopped raw beef,
lJ/2 cupful of fat salt pork minced very fine, two teaspoonfuls of pow-
dered sage, a scant teaspoonful of pepper — the pork should furnish suffi-
cient salt — and one tablespoonful of lemon juice. When thoroughly
mixed pack it in small round tin cans and set away to become hard.
When wanted for breakfast slice three-fourths of an inch thick and
either brown in the oven or fry in a hot, well-greased pan.

Scrapple, Philadelphia. — Take a cleaned pig's head and boil until the
flesh strips easily from the bones. Remove all the bones and chop fine.
Set the liquor in which the meat was boiled aside until cold, take the
cake of fat from the surface and return the liquor to the fire. When it
boils, put in the chopped meat and season well with pepper and salt. Let
it boil again and thicken with cornmeal as you would in making ordinary
cornmeal mush, by letting it slip slowly through the fingers to prevent
lumps. Cook an hour, stirring constantly at first, afterward putting back

38 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

on the range in a position to boil gently. When done, pour into a long,
square pan, not too deep, and mold. In cold weather this can be kept
several weeks. Slice and fry brown in butter or dripping.

Souse. — Clean pig's ears and feet well; cover them with cold water
slightly salted and boil until tender. Pack in stone jars while hot, and
cover while you make ready for pickle. To half a gallon of good cider
vinegar allow half a cup of white sugar, three dozen whole black pep-
pers, a dozen blades of mace and a dozen cloves. Boil this one minute,
taking care that it really boils, and pour while hot over the still warm
feet and ears. It will be ready to use in two days and will keep in a cool
place for two months. If you wish it for breakfast, make a batter of
one tggy one cup of milk, salt to taste, and a teaspoonful of butter, with
enough flour for a thin muffin batter; dip each piece in this and fry in
hot lard or dripping. Or dip each in beaten ^gg, then in pounded
cracker before frying. Souse is also good eaten cold, especially the feet.

Stew, Oven. — Two or three pounds of beef shin are selected, the bone
being broken into three or four pieces. After wiping with a damp cloth,
remove all the meat from the bone and cut into small pieces for serving.
Scrape the marrow from the bone and place in a kettle, and in it brown
first the meat, then the vegetables cut in cubes — half an onion and one
carrot. Now dredge well with flour and salt, adding about a tablespoon-
ful of browned flour to give color. Add one or two whole cloves, one-
half cup of tomato or a little tomato catsup, then the pieces of bone.
Cook in the oven in a deep iron meat-pan for three or four hours, adding
potatoes, cut in cubes, one hour before serving.

Stew, Tomato. — Fry a tiny onion, or a slice or two of ordinary size,
in a couple of tablespoonfuls of fat. Add two or three slices of carrot
and let them brown. Then stir in a cupful of canned tomatoes and half a
cupful of beef stock or gravy. If stock is used the mixture should be
thickened with a little flour. Add also half a bayleaf and a couple of
sprays of Summer savory, and simmer the stew slowly for half an hour,
so that it may be permeated with the seasonings. At the end of this time
add the cold meat from a shank of beef, or any "leftover," cut in small
pieces. Simmer very slowly for five or 10 minutes and serve hot, after
dashing in a little salt and pepper.

Tough Meat. — To soften a tough steak pour a few spoonfuls of vine-
gar, or vinegar and oil mixed, over it, and allow it to stand 12 to 24
hours,- turning occasionally. A tough piece of meat may be laid in vine-
gar (not too strong) for three or four days in Summer, or twice as long in
Winter. Oil or spices may be added to the vinegar if desired, this bath
being termed a marinade. Tough meat should receive long gentle cook-
ing, preferably in an enclosed vessel which will prevent evaporation of
juices. Such beef should not be treated like a tender rib roast; it would

THE RURAL COOK BOOR. 39

better be braised (pot roast) or cooked as beef a la mode. The mar-
inade will be found desirable when the meat is cooked in this way. If
stewed, the same system of prolonged gentle cooking (preferably in an
earthen stewpan or casserole) should be employed.

Stuffed Tenderloin. — Procure a good-sized tenderloin, slit one side
open and lay within a dressing made as follows: One cupful of dry grated
crumbs, one tablespoonful of minced parseley, one large teaspoonful of
mixed sweet herbs, thyme, Summer savory, sweet marjoram and sage,
one heaping teaspoonful of finely chopped onion fried in one tablespoon-
ful of butter, one- half teaspoonful salt, one saltspoonful pepper. If this
amount of butter does not make it moist enough add a trifle more melted
butter, but no water. Stuff the tenderloin and sew up the opening. If
it is not fat place two or three slices of bacon over the top, fastening
with wooden toothpicks. Rub into the meat one teaspoonful of salt, one-
fourth teaspoonful of white pepper. Dust with flour and roast. When
done remove the tenderloin to a heated platter and put the roasting pan
on top of stove, adding one tablespoonful of flour to the gravy which it
contains. When thoroughly browned add a cupful of hot water, two
tablespoonfuls of chopped gherkins, and one tablespoonful of finely-
chopped olives.

Veal and Ham Pie. — A pound of veal cutlet cut in small pieces is
rolled in flour and browned in hot bacon fat. Cover with boiling water,
or, if possible, with stock made from the trimmings of veal and seasoned
with sweet herbs, carrot and onion, and simmer for about two hours
Put the pieces of veal in a baking dish. Have ready half a cupful of
finely chopped cooked ham. Add to it a little of the liquid in which the
veal was cooked, and pound smooth in a mortar. Then press through a
puree sieve, and add the rest of the liquid with such seasoning as may
be desired. Pour this over the meat in the dish, adding half a pint of
oysters and a few bits of butter. Cover the dish with a pastry or rich
biscuit crust, and bake about 25 minutes.

Veal, Paprika Schnitzel. — Cut two pounds of thick veal steak into
small pieces, roll in seasoned flour, fry brown in salt pork fat. Remove
the meat from the pan, add two tablespoonfuls of flour to the remaining
fat, brown lightly and pour in the strained liquid from a pint can of to-
matoes, or if desired slice in a pint of fresh peeled tomatoes. Add a
slice each of onion and carrot, three bay leaves and a bit of mace, then
return the meat to the sauce, cover closely and simmer for three-quarters
of an hour. When done remove the meat, add a little more salt if neces-
sary (the pork helps to season) a pinch of paprika or red pepper, and
strain on to the platter.

CHAPTER IV.

PASTRY AKD PIES.

When pieplant gives tlie first good mess,

With nice hot biscuit, I confess
Our follis feel good. Pop says : "I guess

You ought to have a bran' new dress."
"And you a coat," I sez, "no less !"

I know our folks will always bless
The day that pieplant gives first mess.

Some of our friends, who have spent many years abroad, tell of a
Roman pension or boarding-house whose proprietor boasted that he had
recipes for more than 365 delicious desserts. During the months our
friends were at the pension they never had the same dessert twice, which,
they complained, was really pathetic, for man}- of the dishes were so
delicious that they longed for a repetition. We doubt whether anyone
could duplicate that experience in an American boarding-house, where,
too often, pie is almost the only form of dessert, except a restricted range
of puddings. The unwholesome effect of pastry often results, we believe,
from eating it as the finish to a hearty meal, when the digestion is already
fully tasked. We are told by those who use it that the oil pie crust,
recipe for which is given, is more easily digested than that made with
other shortening.

Pie Crust. — For one pie use one cupful sifted flour, one-half cup of
shortening, pinch of salt. It will be much flakier if chopped together
with a knife, instead of rubbing in the hands. Stir in enough cold water
to mix it so it may be rolled out. Handle as little as possible, and keep
very cold. It is improved by making a day before using, and storing in
the icebox or other cold place.

Cream Pie Crust. — If one can use cream, delicious crust may be made.
Add baking powder and salt to the flour and mix stiff with cream that is
not too heavy. The crust is tender, browns quickly and has a very sweet,
agreeable flavor.

Oil Pie Crust. — For this either olive or refined cotton-seed oil may
be used. For one pie take one cup flour, add pinch of salt, mix and add
two tablespoonfuls oil; rub well together and add three tablespoonfuls
cold water. Handle dough as little as possible and roll thin.

Puff Paste. — Use equal weights of flour and butter; by measure, one
pint of flour and one cup of butter. Wash the butter in cold water
until all the salt is out; the hands should first be washed in hot, then
cold water, to prevent the butter from sticking. When washed until

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 41

smooth and waxy divide butter into four parts, pat until thin, wrap in
a napkin and place upon ice. Mix a little salt with the flour, mix in
about one-balf cup of ice water, stirring it in with a knife, and cut
until it can be taken up clean from the bowl. Put on a well-floured
board, roll until one-half inch thick. Roll one portion of the butter thin,
fold it up inside the paste, pat and roll out again. Repeat this process
with the rest of the butter. When putting in the butter, fold the sides
of the paste over it toward the middle, then the ends over, and double;
then roll. This process should continue until no streaks of fat are shown.
Whenever the butter becomes soft, it should be chilled, and when finished
the paste should be wrapped in a napkin, and kept in the refrigerator.
This is the paste used for patty cases, and similar delicate pastry. It
requires a "knack'' as well as a recipe to get good results.

Crust for Raised Pies. — This is the crust used by English house-
keepers for pork and other meat pies, in which the crust is patted and
shaped into a deep dish shape, which is filled with meat and then covered
with a top crust. The crust is hard and stiff when cold, but softens
when warm. Put one cupful of water in a saucepan, add one pound of
lard, put on stove to melt, and allow it to come to boiling point, stirring
well; sift about three pounds of flour into a bowl, make a hole in the
middle, and stir in the hot liquid, mixing with a spoon until it is cool
enough to knead with the hands. It may require the addition of more
flour, as it should be very stiff. To make a pork pie, this crust should
be molded with the hands into a dish shape four or five inches deep;
an oval four or five by six inches is a convenient size. Good, tender,
fresh roasting pork is cut into half-inch pieces, and well seasoned; the
pie is filled and covered, after a small amount of water is sprinkled over,
and then the pie is baked for about ly^ hour, in a steady oven. It is
always served cold. Game birds or pigeons make excellent raised pie
also. To give a shining yellow appearance to the pastry, brush it over
with the yolk of an egg, beaten up with two tablespoonfuls of milk,
about 10 minutes before it is taken out of the oven.

Almond Bars. — Roll puff paste into thin narrow strips. Beat one
egg white slightly and mix it with two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar
and one cupful of finely-chopped almonds. Spread this mixture over the
strips of paste and brown them in the oven. Sometimes the almonds ar«
rolled into the paste. Mix two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar with
the same amount of chopped almonds and sprinkle over the paste when
first rolled out. Fold and roll again, then repeat the process. Finally cut
into long sticks, brush with white of an egg and brown in the oven. One
teaspoonful of cinnamon may be used in place of the almonds, when th«
result will be cinnamon bars.

42 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Apple Pie. — This is how a Michigan housekeeper makes it: The under
crust was first brushed over lightly with white of an tgg and allowed to
stand while the rest of the work went on; this to keep the juices from
soaking into the crust before baking. Next a half -cupful of sugar was
put in, along with a half to a tablespoonful of flour, according to the
degree of juiciness of the apples, and a generous pinch of cinnamon or
allspice according to choice. These were rubbed smoothly together to
insure a jelly-like consistency of the finished pie, without the unpalatable
doughy lumps. The fruit is then added, the remainder of the sugar
poured over (a cupful in all for very sour apples), the top dotted thickly
with butter, and unless the apples are very juicy a dessertspoonful of
water added. The edge of the under crust is now moistened with water,
the top applied and the two pinched neatly together; the whole brushed
over with rich milk to insure an even golden-brownness, and a tiny funnel
made of writing paper twisted and pinned into shape inserted in the air
hole cut in the top. These details observed you may now put your pie
into the oven with a certainty that it will come out a thing of beauty,
with none of its savory juices burning to a crisp in the bottom of
the oven. For very young apples, however, she always used instead of
the water, a generous tablespoonful of spiced vinegar (left over from
any spiced sweet pickle) with a little more flour. Or if apples had been
kept some time and were shriveled and insipid, she found the same treat-
ment a vast improvement. Lacking the spiced vinegar she sometimes used
lemon juice with an additional sprinkling of sugar and spices. Other fruit
pies were made in a similar manner, always taking into consideration the
qualities of the fruit as to acidity and juiciness. For canned fruits
already sweetened, such as huckleberries, elderberries and the like, which
were very juicy and required no extra sweetening, she usually rubbed the
flour (in same proportion of a spoonful to a pie) in a bit of the juice,
and added it with whatever spices were necessary to the rest of the fruit,
and set it over the fire until the flour was cooked, adding a little butter.
When cold the mixture was filled into the prepared paste, egg-brushed
as before. For custard or pumpkin she usually prepared the paste by
setting the pan on top of the stove until the crust was nearly cooked
through, then adding the custard and putting it at once into a hot oven.
When sweet cider is at hand, it may be used to give additional flavor to
an apple pie. Warm half a cupful of cider and, 10 minutes before the
pie is taken from the oven, pour the cider into it through the hole in the
center of top crust, using a little funnel of stiff paper to prevent splashing.

Appleless Apple Pie. — Soak two large soda crackers in a large cup of
boiling water. Add small piece butter. When cool add two tablespoon-
fuls vinegar, one cup sugar, a few raisins and a little nutmeg. Bake with

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 43

two crusts as you do the real apple pie. Another appleless apple pie is
made from pumpkins as follows: Procure a good sound pumpkin (or
squash), wash, cut a round of same, as deep as an ordinary apple is, from
stem to blossom end; peel, cut down crosswise in slices about an eighth
of an inch thick; put in water enough to cover, and stew slowly until
tender, but not mushy. Lift carefully from the water, let cool. Prepare
crust as for apple pie, line your tins with the crust, place your slices of
pumpkin just as you would slices of apple; sprinkle over them a little
flour — not over a tablespoonful of sugar; add one tablespoonful of pure
cider vinegar to each pie, a few lumps of butter, finish with a top crust.
Bake to a rich brown color in a moderate oven.

Vermont Blackberry Pie. — Line a deep dripping pan with pastry, cover
the bottom with a generous layer of blackberries, sprinkle with sugar and
cover with a crust. Bake, then add another layer of blackberries and
sugar, cover with a top crust, and then bake again. This is recommended
as highly delicious, either hot or cold.

Buttermilk Pie.— Beat together a heaping cupful of sugar and four
eggs; add half a cupful of butter; beat thoroughly and add 1^ pint of
fresh buttermilk; line pie tins with crust; slice an apple thin and lay
in each pie; fill crust with the mixture and bake with one crust.

Butterscotch Pie. — Two eggs, one cup brown sugar, butter size of
walnut, tablespoon of flour, one cup cream, one teaspoon vanilla. Cream
the butter, sugar and flour together, add the beaten yolks, cream and
flavoring. Pour this into a good baked pie crust and return to the oven.
When it has thickened spread over it the whites beaten very stiffs, with
two level tablespoons of sugar. Have the oven quite cool while the
meringue is browning.

Carrot Pie. — Scrape the skin off the carrots, boil them soft and strain
them through a sieve. To a pint of the strained pulp put three pints of
milk, six beaten eggs, two tablespoonfuls of melted butter, the juice of
half a lemon and the grated rind of a whole one. Sweeten it to your
taste, and bake it in deep pie plates without an upper crust.

Cheese Cakes. — This is a rich English dainty. Take four ounces of
butter, and cream it in a warm pan; add four ounces of sugar, beat well;
add the yolk of one e^g, beat again, then add one whole tgg; beat all
well together, and mix in four ounces of currants. Line patty pans
with paste, fill with the mixture, shake a little sugar over the top, and bake.

Curd Cheese Cakes. — Add one tgg to one cupful of fresh curd; beat
smooth, and beat in one-half cupful of sugar, and a piece of butter the
size of a walnut. Flavor with nutmeg or any other spice, and use as
filling for a pie without top crust. A richer curd cheese cake is made
by using the recipe given for ordinary cheese cakes, and beating the curd
into it before the currants are added.

44 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Chocolate Pie. — Line a deep pie pan with rich pie crust and bake in a
quick oven. Grate one-half teacupful of chocolate and put into a sauce-
pan, with one cupful of hot water, butter the size of an tgg, one table-
spoonful vanilla, one cupful of sugar, the beaten yolk of two eggs and
two tablespoonfuls of cornstarch, dissolved in a little water ; mix well ;
cook until thick, stirring constantly. Pour into the pie shell and let cool.
Beat the whites of the two eggs to a stiff froth, add two tablespoonfuls
of powdered sugar, spread on top of pie and slightly brown in oven.

Cider Jelly Pie. — This is a tested old-fashioned recipe. A half pint of
boiled cider, a cupful of brown sugar, a cupful of boiling water and two
tablespoonfuls of cornstarch. Stir the cornstarch into the cider, add the
other ingredients and cook for 10 minutes. Fill into a pastry-lined pie
tin and cover with an upper crust.

Cream Pie. — Mix thoroughly two cups of flour and five tablespoonfuls
of butter, then add three tablespoonfuls of sugar and one large tgg, which
has been thoroughly beaten together previously. Roll an eighth of an inch
thick, line two pie tins, prick with a folk and bake a pale brown, then
fill with this cream: Two cups milk, two tablespoonfuls of cornstarch,
five tablespoonfuls of sugar, yolks of five eggs. Cook together like cus-
tard, and when cold cover with meringue made of whites of five eggs and
five tablespoons powdered sugar.

New England Cream Tart Pie. — Select firm Esopus apples and make
as dry an apple sauce as possible, sweetened slightly and strained. For
a large-sized pie use one pint of apple, one pint of thick cream, yolks of
two eggs beaten stiff, and one-half of a nutmeg. An under crust only
is used, and this may be baked the day before. Fill and bake about one-
half hour. Use the whites of two eggs for the meringue and brown in
the oven. Greenings are good for this pie when Esopus is not at hand,
but apples of low quality should not be used for it.

Crumb Pie. — Soak a pint of bread crumbs in milk. Beat three eggs;
add half a cup of sugar. Line two pie plates with crust and strew over
enough raisins to cover bottom. Add the bread crumbs to tgg and milk,
sifting in a bit of cinnamon, pour over the raisins and bake about 30
minutes.

Date Pie. — For one pie take one heaping cupful of pastry flour, add a
pinch of salt and mix to the right consistency with sweet cream. The
crust will be much nicer if allowed to get very cold before using. Filling
— To a cupful of seeded dates add a cupful of water, cook over hot water
about 20 minutes, then rub through a sieve. Beat an tgg and a table-
spoonful of sugar until light; add a tablespoonful of lemon juice, the
date paste and gradually a cupful of scalded milk. Pour into a half
baked shell and finish baking in a moderate oven until a knife blade
can penetrate it and come out clean.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 45

Delectable Tarts. — One cup of slightly sour cream, one cup of seeded
and chopped raisins, one cup of sugar and one tgg with a delicate flavor-
ing of spices. Beat the tgg light, add the cream and sugar; the raisins
well floured and spices. Bake in tart or patty pans with a single crust.

Elderberry Pie. — Line a pie dish with paste, upon which sprinkle a
scant tablespoonful of flour; to this add a half cup of sugar and a half
teaspoonful each of cloves and cinnamon, rubbing all together evenly.
Upon this pour the berries, a pint more or less according to the size of
your pie dish; pour over another half cup of sugar, dot generously with
butter, adding last one large tablespoonful of good vinegar. Apply top
crust quickly and bake.

Grape Cobbler. — This is best made from very ripe black grapes. Wash
them twice — on the bunches and after picking. Line a deep pie dish with
half-inch rich crust, put in the grapes and all the sugar that will lie
between them, heaping the fruit a little in the middle. Put on the top
crust, cut cross slits in the middle and fold back the corners to leave
an open square. Set the dish in a quick oven and while the pie bakes
make a sauce, using half a cup of butter, one cup of sugar and one table-
spoon boiling water. Stir well over hot water and flavor with lemon
juice, or grated nutmeg, according to taste. When the pie is nearly done
take it out, pour in the sauce through the opening in the crust, return
it to the oven. Be careful not to overbake, but keep it hot until served.

Grape Roll. — Allow half the weight of the grapes in sugar and only
water enough to keep from burning; seed the grapes; allow one pint of
cooked grapes for the roll. To make the dough cream one-half teacupful
of butter with one pint of sifted flour; add one teacupful of milk, two
eggs well beaten, a saltspoonful of salt and a teaspoonful of baking
powder; roll out on the board in two long ovals, roll up and pinch the
ends, lay in a buttered dish, set the dish to bake and twice pour over
them a sauce of a tablespoonful of butter and a tablespoonful of sugar
mixed together, to which is added one-half teacupful of boiling water
(for one basting). Serve the rolls with the same kind of sauce made
richer and flavored with nutmeg.

Green Apple Slump. — Stew and strain a quart of green apples and
sweeten to taste. Make a biscuit crust with two cupfuls of flour, one
heaping teaspoonful of baking powder, one tablespoonful of butter and
one-half teaspoonful of salt, and moisten with sweet milk to a dough.
Roll out one inch thick. Put the prepared hot sauce in a thick-bottomed
saucepan, fit over it the crust and cover closely, first buttering the inside
of the cover. Place where the sauce will simmer slowly but steadily
for an hour. In serving put the crust on the dish, pour the sauce over
it aad serve with creasi.

40 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Hasty Pie. — Place in a deep baking pan or dish any fresh or canned
fruits to the depth of two or three inches. Beat together one egg, two
tablespoonfuls of melted butter, one cupful sweet milk and one cupful of
flour in which has been sifted one teaspoonful of baking powder. Pour
this over- fruit and bake until crust is well done. Eat with sweetened
cream or any pudding sauce. Use but little syrup with fruit. The same
recipe for batter makes good muffins.

Jam Dumplings. — To one quart of sifted flour add two heaping tea-
spoonfuls of baking powder, half teaspoonful of salt and four table-
spoonfuls of sugar and sift several times. Beat two eggs light and add
to a cup of milk; stir into the flour, adding a large tablespoonful of
butter melted; add enough milk to make a soft dough; roll out, cut in
squares, put a large spoonful of jam in center of each square, pinch the
edges together, place them in a baking pan and bake them for 25 minutes;
serve with vanilla sauce.

Lady Lufkins. — Make a very rich, flaky pie crust, roll out very thin,
cut into strips an inch wide, and wind each strip around a tube of metal
or heavy manilla paper about two inches wide; bake until crisp and brown.
This is the way in which bakers make their cream rolls. When cold, fill
each roll with marmalade in the center and cream at the ends.

Lemon Meringue. — Stir together the juice and rind of one lemon, one
cupful of sugar, three-quarters of a cupful of water with one tablespoon-
ful of cornstarch, and the yolks of four eggs. Bake in one crust and
make a meringue of the four whites for the top, adding a little powdered
sugar after having been stiffly beaten. If desired the whites of the eggs
may be included in the filling, and two crusts used.

Lemon Mince Pie. — Stir together two tablespoonfuls cornstarch thor-
oughly cooked with a cupful of water, one cupful of sugar, one cupful of
molasses, one cupful of chopped raisins, a little citron, the juice of two
lemons, and the grated rind of one. Bake in two crusts. This makes
several pies.

Delicious Lemon Pie. — Beat one cup sugar, three tablespoons of flour,
the yolks of two eggs, piece of butter size of a walnut, to a cream. Add
the grated rind and juice of a lemon, then one cup of milk, gradually.
Then fold in the whites of the eggs beaten to a froth. Bake in one crust.

Maple Custard Pie. — Line a pie pan with any good paste. For the
filling beat together the yolks of three eggs and one pint of cream; add
one-third cup maple sugar shaved fine. Stir until the sugar is dissolved
and bake in a quick oven. Delicious.

Marlborough Pie. — Line a pie plate with very thin puff paste. Take
half cup of mixed orange, lemon and citron peel. Strew these in the
bottom of the dish. Beat the yolks of four eggs with a cup of butter aod

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 47

scant cup of sugar. Heat in a double boiler until melted; then flavor with
orange juice and little grated peel. Pour into the dish and bake three-
quarters of an hour.

Milk Pie. — Line a pan eight inches in diameter with good paste, put
dots of butter over the bottom until you have used about the size of a
walnut, dredge over alternately flour to the amount of one-fourth meas-
uring cup and sugar to the amount of one-half cup, then sprinkle evenly
over the top one level dessertspoon of cinnamon and pour in carefully,
so as not to disturb the cinnamon, three-fourths cup milk and bake until
crust is brown.

Maryland Mincemeat. — Two pounds of lean beef; cook, let get cold,
and pass through meat grinder; mix thoroughly with one pint of finely-
minced suet, two quarts of chopped, high-flavored apples, one pint of
stoned raisins, a scant pint of sugar, one-half pint of currants, one-third
pound of citron shaved in fine shreds, 'a cupful of molasses (which is
omitted if preferred, sugar taking its place), one tablespoonful each of
ground mace and allspice, two tablespoonfuls of cinnamon, one-half table-
spoonful of cloves, two grated nutmegs, one and a half tablespoonful of
salt, juice and rind of one and a half lemon, same of sour orange,
one-half cupful each of candied lemon and orange peel. Moisten with
unfermented grape juice, sweet cider, peach or plum syrup. The syrup
from sweet pickles is a great improvement. Pack solid in airtight jars.

Green Tomato Mincemeat. Chop fine four quarts of green tomatoes,
drain off all juice, cover with cold water, let come to a boil and scald
for 30 minutes, then drain well. Add two pounds of brown sugar, one
pound of seeded raisins, one-half pound of chopped citron, one large
half cupful of finely-chopped suet, one tablespoonful of salt and one-half
cupful of strong cider vinegar. Stir well together and cook till thick.
When cold add one teaspoonful each of ground cinnamon and cloves and
one teaspoonful of grated nutmeg. Stir thoroughly and keep (while it
lasts) in a stone jar.

Mock Mince Pie with Cranberries. — One cupful bread crumbs, one
cupful raisins, one cupful sugar, one cupful cranberries cut in halves, one
level saltspoonful each of cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg, one cup-
ful hot water, one-half cup vinegar and butter size of a large English
walnut. Turn into a pie tin lined with flaky paste, place the top crust
and bake in a brisk oven.

Mock Pumpkin Pie. — Grate sweet apples, add milk, sugar, ginger and
cinnamon, and one egg for each pie. Make the filling of the same con-
sistency as pumpkin, and bake just like it.

Peach Turnovers. — One pint of dried peaches stewed and sweetened
with two tablespoonfuls of brown sugar; flavor with nutmeg to taste.

48 THE RURAL COOK BOOK,

Make a stiff crust, not as short as for other pies. Roll out pieces the
size of a saucer. Cover one-half of the crust one-half inch deep with
the stewed fruit. Fold over, pinch the edges together and prick with a
silver fork. Fry like doughnuts, preferably in cooking oil; powder with
sugar and serve with maple syrup.

Pear Puffs. — Peel good pears, cut out the blossom end, but leave the
stem; simmer the pears until tender in a weak syrup flavored with
lemon, then drain, and allow them to cool. Make a good, rich pie crust,
roll out thin, cut into triangular pieces, and cover each pear, pinching the
crust neatly together, but leaving the stem protruding. Bake in a quick
oven to a pale brown, and serve hot or cold.

Prune Pie. — Stew half pound of prunes as for sauce. When quite soft
remove the stones, sweeten, beat up and gradually fold in the whites of
two eggs. Line deep pie tins with crust and bake twenty minutes. Then
turn in the prune mixture; spread smoothly on top and pour over this
a layer of well-sweetened and well-flavored apple sauce. Place in oven
and bake twenty minutes longer. Eat hot or cold.

Prune Pie No. 2. — One cupful of stewed and stoned prunes, chopped
fine; three tablespoonfuls of the syrup in which they were stewed, two
eggs, yolks and white beaten separately, the whites to a stiff froth; sugar,
salt and flavoring to taste. The prunes should be soaked an hour or two
in warm water before stewing, then cooked slowly several hours, putting
them on with cold water enough nearly to cover them and enough sugar
to make a rich syrup. Bake without upper crust.

Prune Pie No. 3. — Cover a pie tin with rich crust, and then half fill
with a layer of stewed prunes and their juice, the stones having been
removed. Over the prunes pour a custard, made by beating up one egg
and a teacupful of milk, a little nutmeg being grated over the top. The
pie is baked until the custard is set. Little patty pans lined with pie crust
and filled with the same material, are prune fanchonettes.

Pumpkin Pie. — This recipe differs decidedly from those ordinarily used
and is very good. Cut the pumpkin without paring, bake it, skin side
down, until tender, and then scoop out the pulp and sift it. For one
pie allow IJ^ cupful of pumpkin, one cupful of boiling milk, one teaspoon-
ful of butter, half a cupful of sugar, half a teaspoonful of salt, one-
quarter teaspoonful of cinnamon, same amount of ginger; add one egg,
beaten separately. Half bake the crust, fill with the pumpkin and bake.

Pumpkin Pie Without Eggs. — Let the pumpjcin be of the pie variety,
small, close-grained, and sweet. Steam it until tender, then press through
a colander. To a pint of sifted pumpkin add one quart of rich milk, two
level tablespoonfuls flour, one cupful sugar, two teaspoonfuls ginger and a
pinch of salt. This is sufficient for two pies. Fill the crusts, sift on i

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 49

little sugar and a dust of nutmeg, and bake. If the pumpkin is not up to
the standard, one tgg may be added, but not as a substitute for the flour,
which gives body and smoothness to the filling.

Raisin Pie. — One cupful of nice raisins; wash quickly, cover with
boiling water, cook until tender; remove seeds; moisten a cupful of bread
crumbs with the water, add one-fourth cupful of sugar, one egg (beaten),
one tablespoonful lemon juice and the raisins, cut in two or three pieces
each; an upper and lower crust of tender pastry and a satisfactory bake
make a most delicious pie.

Raisin Pie No. 2. — Boil one pound of seeded raisins in sufficient water
to cover for one hour. Then add the juice and grated rind of one lemon,
a piece of butter the size of an tgg, one cupful of sugar, and two table-
spoonfuls of cornstarch. Bake in two crusts. This makes filling for two
pies. A second way of making a pie is to cook one cupful of raisins in
one cupful of water until they are softened, add the grated rind and juice
of one lemon, half a cupful of sugar, a sifting of cinnamon and sufficient
powdered cracks crumbs to thicken. Bake in two crusts.

Raisin Turnovers. — One cupful of seeded raisins, the rind of a lemon,
or a few pieces of candied lemon or orange peel, and a small piece of
preserved citron, chop all together finely, stir into this one beaten egg,
and the juice of one lemon. Roll out puff paste thinly, and cut *it in
circles, lay them on a plate, fill with the mixture, then cover and press
the edges firmly together. Bake the same length of time as you would
a pie.

Raspberry Cream Tart. — Line a pie plate with good paste, and fill with
red raspberries, sweetened with powdered sugar. Cover with paste, but
do not pinch it down at the edges. When it is done, lift the top crust,
which is thicker than usual, and pour upon the fruit a cream made as
follows : One small cup of rich milk, heated to boiling point ; whites of
two eggs beaten light and stirred into the boiling milk; one tablespoonful
of white sugar; one-half teaspoonful of cornstarch wetted with cold
milk. Boil three minutes, then let the cream get perfectly cold. Remove
the top crust, pour the cream over the fruit, replace the crust, and set
the pie away to cool. This recipe is given by Marion Harland; our home
recipe for fruit cream pic calls for a simple custard, using both white and
yolk of one &gg, which is poured over the fruit as above. Strawberry
cream pie is made in the same way.

Rhubarb Pie. — Cut in rather coarse pieces enough rhubarb to fill a
large cup. Beat one egg thoroughly, adding a good pinch of salt, add
the rhubarb, one cup of sugar and two soda crackers rolled fine. Mix
thoroughly, then turn into a pie tin lined with pastry. Put a few bits of
butter over it here and there, add a grating of nutmeg, and bake as a

50 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

tart pie, bands of pastry laid over the top before baking. This quantity
makes one pie — a small deep one, or a thin large one.

Rhubarb Cream Pie. — One cupful of rhubarb chopped fine or grated,
one cupful of sugar, a pinch of salt, a grating of nutmeg or lemon peel.
Moisten a tablespoonful of cornstarch with a tablespoonful of cold water;
then fill the cup up with boiling water, stirring until clear. Beat the
yolks of three eggs until light, and add them with the cornstarch to the
other materials. Line a pie plate with good light paste, fill with the
mixture and bake in a moderately hot oven until custard is set. When
done and cooled, cover with a meringue made with the whites of the
eggs and half a cupful of confectioner's sugar. Brown delicately in
the oven.

Fresh Strawberry Pie. — Bake an empty bottom crust, making it extra
nice; prick holes all over the bottom and sides, to prevent its getting
out of shape. As soon as baked sprinkle the inside with sugar and fill
with ripe berries; also well dredge with sugar.- Cover with sweetened
whipped cream and then cover all with a meringue of the frothed whites
of two eggs mixed with two tablespoonfuls of sugar and a dash of
lemon juice. Invert a plate in the oven and place the pie plate on top
of it and brown. If the work is very carefully done the berries will not
be even heated, and the result will be delicious. The pie should be
thoroughly chilled before serving.

Strawberry Pie No. 2. — Line a pie tin with rich crust shortened with
butter, no baking powder being used. Let it cool, then fill with fresh
strawberries, hulled and washed, and mixed with sugar. Cover with
whipped cream and serve.

Strawberry Pie No, 3. — Line a pie plate with good short crust, fill
with ripe whole berries, liberally sugared, and then cover with a lattice
formed of criss-cross strips of crust. By the time the crust is browned
the berries are cooked in their own rich juice, and the pie is much
nicer than v/ith an ordinary double crust.

Strawberry Cream Pie. — After picking over the berries carefully,
arrange them in layers in a deep pie plate, sprinkling sugar thickly
between each layer, having first lined the dish with your best pastry.
Cover with a crust with a slit in the top and bake. When the pie is
baked, pour into the slit in the top of the pie the following cream mix-
ture: Take a small cupful of rich cream, heat until nearly boiling, then
stir into it the whites of two eggs beaten lightly to a froth, also a table-
spoonful of granulated or powdered sugar; boil all together a few
moments. When cool, pour it into the pie through the slit in the crust
Serve with powdered sugar sifted on top.

CHAPTER V.

PUDDINGS, HOT AND COLD.

The proof of the pudding is not in the eating,
Never mind what the old sayings state ;

The compliment setting the cook's heart a'beating
Is the call for a big second plate.

As a rule farm housekeepers are admirably situated for making
delicious puddings, many of which are more wholesome than pastry.
The recipes given below include considerable variety, and will be found
suggestive, as many may be altered to suit material on hand. We were
obliged to omit a number of good ones, owing to lack of space.

Apricot Pudding. — This may be made from evaporated apricots, care-
fully soaked and stewed, instead of the canned fruit. Butter a shallow
pudding dish and sprinkle on the surface a layer of soft bread crumbs.
Drain the syrup from a can of apricots and arrange a layer of fruit in
the dish. Fill the cavities with sugar and a dot of butter the size of a
pea on each. Cover each piece of fruit with another half to simulate the
whole fruit, then fill the interstices with soft bread crumbs. Mix one pint
of milk, the yolks of three eggs, well beaten, with one-quarter teaspoon
of salt and three teaspoonfuls sugar, and pour this over the fruit. Lift
the fruit a little so the custard may reach every part of the bread. Bake
it about half an hour. Beat the whites of the eggs till stiff; add three
heaped tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar and three teaspoonfuls of
lemon juice. When the pudding is done and cooked somewhat spread
the meringue over the top and brown it slightly. Serve hot without sauce.

Batter Pudding. — This is an old-fashioned recipe, which can be
depended upon. Measure 12 tablespoonfuls of flour after sifting; then
sift again with a teaspoonful of baking powder and a small one of salt.
Beat four eggs, without separating, until very light and before mixing
them to a batter with a quart of milk, butter a three-pint oval baking
dish and see that the oven is of a steady heat, as if for baking bread.
Now make a smooth batter with the milk and flour, stirring in the eggs
last, and bake about one hour The pudding will rise with a brown crust
on top, and, by the slow bakmg, the sides and bottom will also be crisp
and brown, while the interior will be tender and light. Serve directly
from the oven, with fruit juice slightly thickened for sauce. No other
sauce will take the place of this. When the supply of extra juice canned
for this very purpose is exhausted, evaporated cherries soaked over night
and well simmered in the same water is an excellent substitute

52 THE RURAL COOK BOOK,

Black Pudding. — One coffeecup black molasses, one coffeecup sour
cream; add one dessertspoon of soda and beat hard and then add one
cup chopped suet, one cup seeded raisins, a few almonds (about a table-
spoonful), do not blanch them, as they will have a better flavor, three
(or more if liked) chopped figs, two apples, and a piece of citron
chopped. Three cups of flour, one-half teaspoonful of salt and the grat-
ing of one-half nutmeg. Beat well. Take four baking powder cans
(pound size), rub with melted butter and pour the batter into them and
steam hard three hours. Stand in oven ten or fifteen minutes to dry off.
When you wish to use steam half an hour. A quantity may be made at
one time, as these puddings will keep six months.

Blackberry Pudding. — Beat one-third of a cup of butter to a cream.
Add gradually half a cup of sugar and the beaten yolks of two eggs.
Sift together two cups of previously sifted flour, four level teaspoonfuls
of baking powder and half a teaspoonful of salt. Add this to the
creamed butter, sugar, and eggs. Put in half of the flour mixture, mix,
and then put in half a cupful of cold water. Mix in the rest of the
flour, etc. Beat thoroughly and last of all fold in the well-beaten whites
of the two eggs. Sprinkle a cupful of blackberries with a little flour
and add them to the batter as it is dropped a spoonful at a time, into the
mold, which should be rubbed with unsalted butter. Steam an hour and
a half, or bake twenty-five minutes, and serve with a blackberry hard
sauce. The sauce is made in the usual way, with half a cup of butter
and a cup of sugar. Add to this half a cupful of crushed berries.

Blueberry Betty. — Put a pint of milk in a double boiler and put on
the fire to scald. Pick over, wash and drain a pint of fresh blueberries.
Have ready a pint of soft whole wheat bread crumbs. Put a layer of
crumbs in a buttered pudding dish, then a layer of berries, then more
crumbs and so on until the dish is full, having crumbs on top. Stir two
tablespoonfuls of sugar in the milk, and when hot pour it over the con-
tents of the dish. Cover and set in the oven to bake for about an hour.
Stand the pudding dish in a basin of hot water. Serve with a tart sauce.
Blueberry Pudding. — Beat 1^ cupful sugar with four eggs, add one
pint milk and one cupful flour, in which sift one tablespoonful baking
powder, one-half teaspoonful salt; add one cupful whole blueberries; pour
in a buttered covered mold; set in boiling water,, letting water only
come a little more than half way up to the mold; weight down and boil
continuously for one hour; slip on to a dish and cover with sauce, then
sprinkle over uncooked fruit. Sauce — Beat one cupful granulated sugar
with one cupful butter to a cream; then add yolks of two eggs, one-
quarter teaspoonful vanilla.

Baked Blueberry Pudding. — One quart ripe, fresh berries, mace or
nutmeg one-half teaspoonful; three eggs well beaten, separately; sugar,

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 53

two cups; cold butter, one tablespoon; sweet milk, one cup; flour, one
pint; baking powder, two teaspoons. Roll berries well in flour, add
them last. Bake half hour and serve with sauce. Delicious.

Steamed Blueberry Puffs. — Beat two eggs until light and thick, with-
out separating; add half a cupful of sugar and half a cupful of milk;
sift together three level teaspoonfuls of baking powder, half a teaspoon-
ful of salt and two cupfuls of flour, stir into the liquid ingredients; then
stir in one cup of blueberries. Turn into buttered cups and steam half
an hour. The batter should drop easily from the end of the spoon.
Serve hot with cream and sugar.

Bread and Butter Pudding. — Strew half a cupful of currants in the
bottom of a baking dish, then butter some slices of freshly-baked bread
and lay in the dish. Make a custard with two eggs and a pint of milk,
sweeten to taste, and pour it over; grate a little nutmeg over the top and
bake a light brown. This pudding should be baked in the dish in which
it is to be sent to table. It is delicious eaten with stewed fruit.

Steamed Bread and Butter Pudding. — Butter a small pudding bowl.
Cut some thin bread and butter, decorate the bottom of the basin with
candied peel cut in stars, or a few raisins or preserved cherries ; put in
the slices of bread and butter, dusting each slice with sugar and sprinkling
with a few chopped preserved cherries. When full beat up an egg with
half a pint of milk, flavor with essence of almonds, and strain over the
pudding. Leave to soak for a while, cover with buttered paper, and
steam for an hour and a quarter. Turn out, and serve with custard.

Bread Pudding in Disguise. — Break half a loaf of bread into pieces
and soak in milk, just what the bread will take up. Then add an egg
and a cup of sugar and a cup of rich, creamy milk in which put half
teaspoonful of saleratus and teaspoonful of cream of tartar. Bake until
light and well browned in a medium oven. To serve pour a little maple
syrup over each dish.

Brown Betty. — Mix a cupful of sugar and a level teaspoonful of
cinnamon. Prepare about a quart of sliced tart apples. Stir into a pint
of soft bread crumbs about half a cupful of melted butter. Butter well
a deep pudding dish, put in a layer of crumbs, then sliced apples and
sprinkle with sugar, then another layer of crumbs, apples and sugar and
continue until the materials are used with a thick layer of crumbs on the
top. Bake about an hour in a moderate oven. If the oven browns on
the bottom set in a pan of hot water or bake on the top grate of the oven,
covering the pudding well to prevent too crisp an upper crust. Serve
with hard sauce made as follows : Cream a third of a cupful of butter,
add gradually a cupful of powdered sugar and when beaten to a cream
add drop by drop to prevent separation, two tablespoonfuls of rich cream.
Flavor with vanilla or lemon juice.

54 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Carrot Pudding. — Mix together one cupful of grated bread crumbs,
a quarter of a pound each of flour and of butter, one-half pound of
preserved cherries, and one-half pound of sugar and a saltspoonful of
salt. Boil six young carrots until they are tender, then pass them
through a sieve and add half a pound of this pulp to the other ingredi-
ents. Stir the mixture well, then steam it in a buttered mold for 2^^
hours. In the Winter we make an imitation plum pudding in which a
cupful of grated carrot is used, the carrot both lightening and
enriching it.

Cherry Cups. — Pleasure a pint of sifted flour, add two teaspoonfuls
of baking powder and half a tcaspoonful of salt and sift again. Mix to
a soft dough with cold water. Butter little custard cups and drop in a
little of the dough and then add a teaspoonful of the cherries ; cover
these with more dough (the cups should not be more than half full).
Set the cups in a steamer, or if you have no steamer you can put them
in a deep baking pan with a little boiling watgr ; cover closely with
another pan and steam half an hour in the oven. Eat with cherry sauce
or sweetened cream. On bread baking day you can make these with
bread dough instead of the baking powder dough.

Cherry Batter Pudding. — Prepare a cupful of stoned cherries. Beat
two eggs separately, add half a pint of milk, or better still, sweet cream,
to the yolks, and to this one tablespoonful of melted butter. Have ready
1^ cupful of flour, into which two teaspoonfuls of baking powder have
been sifted, with a dash of salt. Add this to the yolks of the eggs and
milk, and lastly add the whites of the eggs, beaten light. Beat vigor-
ously for a few minutes and turn into a greased baking pan, allowing the
batter to be about an inch thick. Cover it with the cherries, add oncrthird
of a cup of granulated sugar, sprinkled lightly on the top, and bake in a
quick oven for 30 minutes. Serve hot with hard sauce or a sauce made
from a cup of cherries and half a cup of sugar stewed together until the
cherries are reduced to a pulp. Sauce as well as pudding should be
served hot.

Boiled Cherry Pudding. — Beat three eggs light without separating; add
a pint of milk. Sift two teaspoonfuls of baking powder and a half a
teaspoonful of salt in a little less than a quart of sifted flour aiid add the
liquid gradually to the flour, stirring to a smooth batter. Add a teaspoon-
ful of melted butter. Beat thoroughly and then stir in a pint of cherries,
stoned and drained free from juice and well floured. Turn into a well-
buttered pudding dish or mold, or an old-fashioned pudding bag, scalded
and floured, and cook in a kettle of boiling water for three hours. Keep
the water boiling continually or the pudding will be heavy. If cooked
in a mold or dish, the water must not be deep enough to boil over the
pudding. If in a bag, there must be sufficient water to keep the pudding

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 55

from touching the bottom of the kettle. Serve with hard or foamy sauce.

Cherry Pudding in Winter. — Nearly fill a buttered baking dish with
the sour canned cherries. Use just enough of the juice so the cherries
will be moist. Spread over this a dough made from one-fourth teacupful
sugar, one tablespoonful butter, one-half cupful milk, one tgg, a little
salt, one cupful flour (use a little more if necessary to make dough like
cake), one teaspoonful baking powder. Bake half an hour. Sauce to
serve with it is made as follows : One-half cupful butter, one-half cupful
sugar, one tablespoonful of flour or cornstarch. Mix thoroughly. To this
add a pint of the cherry juice. Boil till it thickens.

Canned Cherry Tapioca. — Cover a scant cupful of tapioca with cold
watef and let it soak over night. In the morning place over the fire with
a saltspoonful of salt and a pint of boiling water; simmer slowly until
the tapioca is perfectly clear. Stir a pint of stoned cherries into the
boiling tapioca ; add a cupful of sugar (more if the cherries are very
sour) ; turn into a serving dish and set away to cool. Serve with
whipped cream.

Chocolate Pudding. — Put into a bowl two cupfuls of stale bread-
crumbs. Pour over them one quart of scalded milk. While the bread
and milk are cooling melt two squares of chocolate. Mix the chocolate
with two-thirds of a cup of sugar, then, with two eggs, lightly beaten, one
scant saltspoonful of salt and a teaspoonful of vanilla. Add the milk
and breadcrumbs and then, when well mixed, turn the whole into a pud-
ding dish that has been buttered and sugared. Bake it one hour in a
moderately hot oven. Serve cold, with cream. This pudding can be
baked in individual molds if preferred.

Steamed Chocolate Pudding. — Boil one quart of fresh milk and pour
over one pint grated bread crumbs, one-fourth cake grated chocolate, one
cup sugar, one cup flour, one cup butter, two teaspoons baking powder,
one cup raisins, one cup chopped nuts. Steam two hours and serve with
a sauce.

Chocolate Tapioca. — Soak three tablespoonfuls of tapioca in a cup of
cold water for half an hour; add three pints of hot milk, one cupful of
sugar, yolks of two eggs and three tablespoonfuls of grated chocolate.
Cook in a double boiler until the tapioca is tender. Serve with a meringue
made from the whites of two eggs and powdered sugar or whipped cream.

Cider Pudding. — Mix a cupful of cider, a cupful of molasses, a cupful
of suet, a cupful of seeded raisins, half a teaspoonful of salt, one tea-
spoonful of soda and flour enough to make a stiff batter. Steam three
hours.

Baked Cider Pudding. — Cream 1^^ tablespoonful butter, add three
tablespoonfuls granulated sugar and one t^g. Beat all together until
very light. Add half a cupful of cider. Into one cup of flour put one-

5« THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

half teaspoonful cinnamon, one-quarter teaspoonful of ground cloves.
Sift this into the batter and add a quarter cupful each of currants and
Sultana raisins mixed with a quarter cupful of flour. Add one-quarter
teaspoonful baking soda with the last bit of flour and beat briskly for
a minute or two. Pour into a well-greased mold and steam one hour
and a half; turn out carefully, as the -texture is delicate, and serve hot
with orange sauce.

Cider Bread Pudding. — Butter freely several slices of light bread.
Place a layer in pudding dish, cover with a few slices of tart apples;
repeat until the dish is full. To a quart of good cider add a cup of
sugar and pour over. Bake slowly and serve either hot or cold with
cream.

Citron Pudding. — A quart of fresh milk, a pint of stale bread crumbs,
carefully grated, four eggs, a coffee cup of powdered sugar, half a pound
of citron cut fine, a small amount of butter and the juice and rind of
one lemon. The yolks and sugar are beaten together and the bread
crumbs, milk and lemon rind added by degrees. This is poured into a
buttered dish, the citron dropped in and a piece of butter placed over
all. The baking required half an hour and the preparation when cold
is covered with a meringue made of four whites, a cup of powdered
sugar and the juice of a lemon. This is browned slightly before serving.

Cocoanut Pudding. — Otie-half cupful of cocoanut, one-half cupful of
bread crumbs, one pint of milk, one egg, one tablespoonful of butter,
two tablespoonfuls of sugar and one level saltspoonful of salt. Soak
the bread crumbs and cocoanut in the milk for three hours ; mash the
bread fine, and add the sugar, salt and melted butter. Beat the white
and yolk of the tgg separately, and add first the yolk and then the white,
stirring well. Place all in a well-buttered pudding dish and bake half
an hour. Serve hot without sauce.

Coffee Pudding. — Boil three-fourths of a cup of ground coffee in
one quart water 10 minutes; then add one-half ounce gelatine which
had been soaked 15 minutes; then add one cup sugar; boil one minute;
then strain through a cloth, set aside to get cold; when almost jellied
beat one-half pint cream till near stiff, then add the coffee jelly, gradu-
ally beating all the time. When all is well mixed flavor with vanilla,
and set in a cold place to harden. It can be served alone, or with cream.
The recipe is enough for six people.

Colonial Pudding. — When baking bread put a piece of the dough into
a pound baking powder tin and bake this for the top of the pudding.
Soak some slices of Boston brown bread in scalded milk for two hours.
Then beat up well, add a cupful of raisins, a little chopped mixed peel,
half a teaspoonful of mixed spice, half a cupful of sugar, and two ounces
of beef suet, chopped very fine, or a piece of butter the size of an egg.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 57

Mix all well together, adding cold milk as you mix it, and then put into
a buttered baking dish. A lound, shallow dish is the best to use, and
it should also be one that can be sent to the table. Now cut the white
bread into slices, butter them, and lay them closely together on the top
of the pudding mixture. Grate a little nutmeg over all, and bake in a
moderate oven for an hour and a half, covering it for an hour and
taking off the cover for the half hour so that it may be a nice light brown.

Cottage Pudding. — One cup sugar, two eggs, one pint sweet milk, two
scant teaspoons baking powder, flavoring and flour to make a batter as
stiff as cake dough. Bake three-quarters of an hour in a moderate
oven and serve with milk or hot sauce. To make hot sauce cream
together one tablespoon butter and two of flour with half cup of sugar.
Slowly add enough boiling water to make it thin and smooth. Then
proceed to add boiling water to make it the consistency of thin starch.
Boil a few minutes and flavor before serving.

Steamed Cranberry Dumplings. — Make the dumplings of good, pre-
pared flour, which cannot fail to be light, using one pint of it; add a
pinch of salt and mix with milk to a paste just stiff enough to drop by
tablespoonfuls on the buttered steamer bottom; steam over boiling water
about half an hour. Serve immediately; first carefully split the fluffy
rolls open, lightly butter and put between a tablespoonful of stewed cran-
berry sauce (warm) ; pour over a foamy sauce made as follows: Three
tablespoonfuls of milk, stirred into one beaten egg, a half cupful of sugar
and one teaspoonful of flour; beat hard and put into double boiler; pour
on slowly a cup of boiling water, stir constantly until the sauce thickens,
then add one teaspoonful of butter and one of strawberry flavoring.

Cranberry Pot-pie. — Butter a porcelain stewpan or kettle; put in a
pint of berries, sprinkled with one cupful sugar; make a pint of biscuit
dough, shape into a large ring and lay on the fruit in the kettle; then
pour another pint of berries into and around the cup of dough, adding
another cupful of sugar; pour one pint of boiling water into the center,
cover closely and stew steadily for 20 minutes. When done turn from
the kettle on to a platter; serve with cream and sugar.

Cranberry Pudding. — Sift and measure one pint of flour; add two
teaspoonfuls baking powder and half a teaspoonful of salt. Sift again
until all are thoroughly blended. Add enough sweet milk to make a
soft batter. Stir in one cup of cranberries that have been coarsely
chopped. Pour into a pudding bag or a porcelain-lined mold. If the bag
is used boil one and one-half hour in plenty of water. If the mold is used,
steam the pudding two hours.

Baked Cranberry Pudding. — Put a layer of coarsely crumbled bread in
bottom of buttered dish; then a layer of seeded raisins and stewed cran-
berries, a few bits of butter, and a few drops of vanilla extract; repeat

58 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

bread, butter, vanilla and fruit until dish is full; have crutnbs and but-
ter top layer ; bake until puffy and brown ; then decorate with meringue
and place in very moderate oven to set the latter, but not brown.

Cream Curds. — Beat four eggs and stir them into a quart of milk
slightly warmed. New milk was originally called for. Add a little salt
and turn the mixture into a covered earthen pot. A bean pot or cas-
serole will answer. Set the pot in a pan of warm water over the fire.
As soon as the milk cracks turn it carefully out on a sieve covered with
a linen cloth. When the draining is complete put the curds in a glass
dish in large spoonfuls.

Cup Custards. — In making cup custards, it is a pleasant change to
put in each cup, before the custard is poured in, a tablespoonful of
either strawberry or raspberry jam. The custard cups should be stood
in a baking pan containing hot water while baking; every custard should
be cooked in this way. A date custard is made and baked in the ordi-
nary manner; then, after baking, the top is covered with stoned dates,
which may be filled with nuts if desired, and rolled in powdered sugar.
The dates are covered with a meringue, which is browned in the oven,
and the custard is then served cold.

Peach Custard. — Slice ripe peaches in a glass dish and sugar them
well two hours before they are to be served. Make a boiled custard by
taking three eggs, one and one-half pints sweet milk and one tablespoon
corn starch and one cup of sugar. Boil after thoroughly beating together
in a double boiler till thick and smooth. Pour over peaches and serve
while slightly warm.

Date Puffs. — Two eggs, one cupful of sugar, one quarter of a cupful
of butter, the same of milk, one teaspoonful of baking powder and flour
enough to make a thin batter. Stir in one cupful of stoned dates; fill
muffin cups half full and steam 30 minutes. Serve with a liquid sauce
or with sweetened cream.

Economy Pudding. — Take two cupfuls of ginger cookie crumbs
(crumbled cookies) and one cupful sweet milk, one cupful molasses, one
teaspoonful cinnamon, one-fourth teaspoonful cloves, one-fourth tea-
spoonful nutmeg, three eggs well beaten, one-half teaspoonful salt, one
cup seeded raisins, one-half teaspoonful of soda dissolved in one table-
spoonful of water and two cupfuls of flour. Beat thoroughly, turn into
greased pudding pan and steam three hours. Serve with hard sauce.

Farina Pudding. — Place a double boiler with one pint of milk over
the fire; when it boils, sprinkle in two and a half tablespoonfuls farina,
one-quarter teaspoonful salt and two tablespoonfuls sugar. Cook
twenty minutes, then add the beaten whites of two eggs, stir for a few
minutes, remove from fire, pour into a mold and set aside to cool.
Serve with orange sauce made in following manner: Stir the yolk« of

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 59

two eggs with half cupful sugar to a cream, add half cupful orange
juice and one tablespoonful lemon juice, add last the beaten white of one
egg and serve. Or a vanilla sauce may be served with the pudding.

Fruit Puffs. — Fill old cups or baking cans to the depth of two inches
with strawberries, sliced apples, or any kind of berries and cover with a
layer of sugar. Put in each cup a small lump of butter and completely
cover the berries with a batter made of one tg^, one pint sweet milk,
one and one-half teaspoon baking powder and flour to make rather stiffer
than for pancakes. Bake 40 minutes in a steady oven.

Gingerbread Pudding. — One cupful of molasses, one cupful of sugar,
one-half cupful of melted lard or butter, salt; all kinds of spice — one-
fourth teaspoonful of each — one cupful of buttermilk, two scant tea-
spoonfuls of soda, one cupful of raisins or sliced apples, flour for stiff
batter. Steam in a covered pudding dish two hours. Hot water may
be substituted for buttermilk; then use half the quantity of soda.
Whipped cream is better than sugar with this.

Gooseberry Charlotte. — Stew a pint of ripe or nearly ripe gooseberries
for 10 minutes very slowly, not to break them. Cut six or eight slices
of stale plain cake; line the bottom of your pudding dish with them;
put next a layer of the gooseberries sprinkled thickly with sugar; more
cake, more berries, and so on until the dish is full. Cover closely and
steam in a moderate oven 20 or 25 minutes. You will find the juice of
the berries sufficient moisture. Serve hot with a good pudding sauce.

Gooseberry Fool. — According to the original English recipe it was
merely gooseberry sauce enriched with cream; American authorities, how-
ever, use eggs and butter instead of cream. To make it English fashion,
stew either green or ripe gooseberries, after topping and stemming them,
until tender, in just enough water to prevent burning, strain through a
sieve, sweeten and then stir in as much rich cream as taste dictates;
pour into a glass dish, and set away in a cool place. A very delicious
dessert is made by using this gooseberry fool as filling for charlottes,
lining either one large mold or small individual cups with ladies' fingers
or small slices of sponge cake, and then filling with the gooseberry mix-
ture, putting whipped cream on the top. The American recipe adds to
one quart of ripe gooseberries, stewed and strained, the yolks of four
eggs, one cupful of sugar, and one tablespoonful of butter, beaten to-
gether until light. Pour into a glass dish, and heap on top the whites
uf the eggs, beaten with two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar.

Gooseberry Pudding. — Green gooseberries mixed with rhubarb make
a nice combination for pie or puddings. Of course plenty of sugar is
needed. For gooseberry pudding line a mold with baking powder or suet
crust (preferably the latter), fill with gooseberries alone or mixed with
rhubarb, sugar liberally, add a little water, and cover; steam three houri.

60 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Graham Pudding. — Make a batter of a cupful of molasses, a cupful
of sweet milk, a cupful of seeded and chopped raisins, two cupfuls of
graham flour and two teaspoonfuls of soda. Steam for three hours.
Eat with a sauce made of a tablespoonful of butter creamed with half
a cupful of sugar and the stiffly beaten white of an tgg and lemon to
flavor.

Graham Date Pudding. — Stone a cupful of dates and add them to a
pint of boiling water, two tablespoonfuls of sugar and a pinch of salt.
Set on the fire and stir in graham flour to make a moderately thick por-
ridge. Cook thoroughly, set away to get cold. Serve with whipped cream.

Graham Plum Pudding. — One egg, one cup molasses, one cup sweet
milk, one teaspoonful soda, one-half teaspoonful salt, two cupfuls gra-
ham flour, one-half cupful raisins. Mix and steam three hours. Serve
with this sauce : One tablespoonful butter, one tablespoonful sugar, one
tablespoonful white flour, the yolk of one tgg. Add hot water and let
it boil, then white of tgg and flavor.

Grape Pudding. — Soak one-half a box of gelatine in one-half a cup
of cold water, until soft; add one cup of boiling water, juice of one
lemon, one cup of sugar and one pint of grape juice. Set aside to cool
until it begins to stiffen, then fold in the stiffly beaten whites of two
eggs. Run into a mold. When ready to serve unmold and garnish with
whipped cream. A bunch of grapes may be placed on the top of the
mold. This will serve eight persons.

Grape Pudding No. 2. — This is an old-fashioned dish which may be
either boiled or baked. Delaware grapes are best for it. Wash, pick
and flour well before putting into the batter. A heaping pint of picked
grapes makes a fair-sized pudding. For the batter beat four eggs very
light, whites and yolks separate, mix smoothly with the yolks half a
pint of milk and one pint of flour sifted twice. Add half a cupful of
butter beaten to a cream, and last of all the whites of eggs, stirring them
in with long, swift strokes, all the same way. The grapes go in at the
very last, and the bag or the pan ought to be ready before they are
added. Boil the pudding three hours, and serve with a rich grape juice
sauce. For a baked pudding the white of one e.gg may be kept out, and
used for a meringue. Serve with the same sauce.

Huckleberry Blanc Mange. — Heat one quart of milk in a double boiler
(reserving one-third of a cupful with which to mix three tablespoonfuls
of cornstarch). Add one-half cupful of sugar and a pinch of salt.
When the milk is scalding hot, stir in the cornstarch, and cook for five
minutes. Pour this on the well-beaten whites of two eggs and beat
thoroughly. When cool pour a little of it into a wetted mold, strew
over this fresh blueberries, then another portion of the blanc mange,
then more of the blueberries (using a pint in all), finish with the blanc

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 61

mange and set on ice to harden. When ready to serve turn out on a
flat glass or china jelly plate and serve with either whipped or plain
cream, slightly sweetened.

Huckleberry Pudding. — Ingredients : One pint of New Orleans mo-
lasses, a quart of huckleberries, a teaspoonful of baking soda, a teaspoon-
ful each of powdered cinnamon, ginger and cloves and 1^ teacupful of
flour. Put the molasses in a bowl, dissolve soda in a little water and
stir in molasses; add spice, fruit and flour and pour the mixture in the
pudding mold. Tie the lid on and set it in a pot of boiling water for
three hours.

Huckleberry Indian Pudding. — Mix together two quarts of warm milk,
three-fourths cupful finely-chopped suet, two tablespoonfuls molasses, a
half teaspoonful of soda, a teaspoonful of salt and enough Indian meal
to make a stiff batter. Add at the last two eggs, whites and yolks
beaten separately, and a quart of huckleberries dredged with flour. Boil
for two and one-half hours in a buttered bag or mold, never allowing
the water to stop boiling, and serve hot with foamy sauce.

Hulnah Pudding. — Wash a cupful of rice and add to it a quart of
milk, a cupful of sugar and a teaspoonful of cornstarch dissolved in a
little cold milk. Flavor with quarter of a nutmeg grated. Bake an hour
and a half, stirring down occasionally, but do not stir down the skin
which forms on top ; then let it brown. When done take from the oven,
remove the brown skin and when the pudding is cool lay over the top
preserved strawberries or cherries. Make a meringue with the whites
of three eggs and three tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, and heap
over the top of the fruit. Set in the oven a moment to brown a delicate
color. Eat with cream.

Indian Pudding. — One pint of skim~m.\\\i scalded. While hot stir in
smoothly two cupfuls of Indian meal, add a little salt, a teaspoonful
of cinnamon and half a cupful of molasses, also the same of sugar.
Stir well. Now add a quart of cold skim-milk, and mix lightly as pos-
sible. Bake slowly for two hours. Your finished product will be fra-
grant, rich, golden, trembling in its sweet jellied whey. Now add the
last touch. When you serve it, put a heaping spoonful of nice apple
sauce flavored with nutmeg over the top, and if you like another spoon-
ful of whipped cream over that.

Indian Apple Pudding. — Take one-half of a cup of molasses, one quart
of milk, one teaspoonful of salt, three scant cups of pared and sliced
apples, to which add a quarter of a teaspoonful of ginger and cinna-
mon. When the milk boils in the double boiler, pour it slowly on the
meal. Cook half an hour in the boiler, stirring often. Now add the
other ingredients; pour into a deep, well greased pudding dish and bake
«lowly. Eat with cream or maple syrup.

63 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Boiled Indian Pudding. — One cupful of milk, one cupful of com meal,
one tgg, one tablespoonful of sugar, one tablespoonful of beef suet
minced fine and strings removed, one-half teaspoonful each of salt and
ground cinnamon, one-third saltspoonful of soda in the milk. (Sour milk
may be used, in which case take one-half teaspoonful of soda.) Heat
the milk with the soda; when boiling stir in the meal, salt and suet and
set aside to cool. When cold beat in the spice, sugar and whipped
eggs and stir vigorously. Boil in a well-greased brown bread mold for
three hours. Leave plenty of room for the pudding to swell. Serve
with hard sauce or caramel, maple sugar or molasses. The recipe may
be doubled and divided in two molds for steaming — one to be set aside
in a cool place and used in a week. A cupful of chopped, floured rai-
sins, dates, or cooked dried apricots may be added. For molasses sauce,
use one cupful of molasses, one and a half tablespoonful of butter, two
tablespoonfuls of lemon juice, a dash each of nutmeg and cinnamon.
Boil molasses, spices and butter five minutes, remove from fire and add
lemon juice. Serve very hot.

New England Indian Pudding. — Take one pint of milk, scald it and
pour it over two heaping tablespoonfuls of Indian meal, in which a
saltspoonful of salt, one-half teaspoonful of cinnamon, one-quarter of a
whole nutmeg grated, have been blended. Stir briskly, and when per-
fectly smooth add one-third cup of chopped suet, one-third cup of mo-
lasses ; when this is well mixed add one pint of cold milk. Beat well,
turn into a greased dish, set it in another containing warm water and
bake three hours in a moderate oven. Serve hot with hard sauce.
This pudding will look as if it had cream and eggs in it, and it should
be stirred gently three times during the first hour and a half.

Old-Fashioned Indian Pudding. — One quart of milk, one quart of
Indian meal, three eggs, three heaping tablespoonfuls of sugar, one tea-
spoonful of salt and one-half pound of beef suet chopped into powder.
Scald the milk and while boiling hot stir in the meal and suet with the
salt. When cold, add the yolks, beaten light with the sugar, then the
whites. Dip your bag in hot water, flour it and fill half full with the
mixture, as it will swell very much. Boil five hours. Eat very hot,
with butter and sugar. This pudding is even better when baked in a
well-buttered dish for an hour and a half. Bake, covered, for an hour
and a quarter, then brown.

Kenilworth Pudding. — Two cupfuls of light chopped bread, one-half
cupful chopped suet, taking care to free it from all strings, one-half
cupful of molasses, one tgg, one cupful raisins, seeded or the seedless,
one cupful sweet milk, with one-half teaspoonful soda dissolved in it,
one-half teaspoonful powdered cloves., one teaspoonful cinnamon and a

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. «3

pinch of mace and salt. Mix thoroughly and boil two hours in a tin
pudding dish. Eat with foamy sauce.

Lemon Pudding. — Grate the rinds of two lemons and squeeze over
them the juice to keep moist Beat together two eggs, one and one-
half cups sugar, two tablespoons cornstarch or flour, tablespoon butter
and enough cold water to thoroughly moisten. Place in double boiler
and add one and one-half pint boiling water, stirring till the mass is
smooth and thick. Just before removing from fire add the rind and
juice of the lemons and beat thoroughly. Cover with a meringue made
of one white of tgg and two tablespoons of sugar and then slightly
brown in the oven.

Maple Custard. — Scald one pint of rich milk in a double boiler and
when hot add a tablespoonful of cornstarch mixed with one-third of a
cupful of cold milk. Just before taking from the fire add two table-
spoonfuls of fine-shaved maple sugar and the beaten yolks of three eggs.
Stir until smooth, adding when cool a pinch of salt and half a tea-
spoonful of vanilla. Use whites of the eggs with sugar for frosting.
By including whites of eggs in the custard and omitting the cornstarch
a delicious cup-custard can be made.

Molasses Bread Pudding. — Stir into one quart of milk one pint of
bread crumbs, one cup of molasses, one cup of raisins, seeded, cinna-
mon and nutmeg to flavor. Bake in a slow oven for three hours, stir-
ring a little when first heated. Serve hot with cream.

Peach Roll. — Into four cups of flour sift two teaspoons of baking
powder, add two cups sour cream, one teaspoon soda and a pinch of
salt. Roll out thin and cover with canned peaches which have been
drained from the juice. Sprinkle with sugar. Cut the dough into strips
and roll up. Bake or steam one-half hour. If baked, pour a little
water into the pan. Serve with the reserved juice or with cream and
sugaf.

Peach Tapioca. — Soak one-half cupful of tapioca over night in plenty
of cold water. Cover the bottom of a buttered pudding dish with a
layer of canned peaches, pour over this the tapioca, which has been
sweetened with one tablespoonful of sugar, put over this another layer
of the peaches and bake in a moderate oven for half an hour. Beat the
whites of two eggs until very stiff, add two tablespoonfuls of sugar,
spread this over the peaches and return to the oven until a delicate
brown. Add more sugar to the juice left from the canned peaches, beat
one-half cupful of cream until light, pour gradually over it the peach
juice, beat all together and serve with dessert. This dish is good served
either cold or hot.

Pear Charlotte. — Slightly moisten six slices of stale bread with cold
water, spread them with soft butter, put half of them in the bottom of

64 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

a buttered pudding dish, spread over them two cupfuls of finely chopped
ripe pears and sprinkle with four tablespoonfuls of sugar, a grating of
nutmeg and a tablespoonful of lemon juice. Lay over them the re-
mainder of the bread, another two cupfuls of the chopped pears and
nutmeg, sugar and lemon juice as before. Pour over one cupful of thin
maple syrup, cover closely and bake in a slow oven for one hour. Serve
hot with whipped cream or maple syrup.

Pear Pudding. — Put one quart of canned pears into a baking dish ;
add a finger length of stick cinnamon and three cloves. If the pears
have not been sweetened sufficiently when put up add sugar to make
them quite sweet, teaspoonful of butter and dredge a teaspoonful of
flour over the top. Place the dish on the range where it will heat while
you mix a pint of flour into a biscuit dough according to well-known
directions; make a very soft dough; pat into shape with the hands and
cover the pears. Bake about 25 minutes. There should be rich juice
enough to moisten the crust. If preferred it may have plain cream
served with it.

Persimmon Pudding. — One quart of persimmons mashed fine with the
hands, and every seed removed. Add one quart of sweet milk, one egg,
one tablespoonful of butter, one-half teaspoonful each of cinnamon, nut-
meg and ginger, and half as much of allspice and cloves, half cupful of
sugar. Pour into a buttered baking dish, and bake till well set, as if for
custard. Eat hot or cold ; delicious either way.

English Plum Pudding. — ^One pound stoned raisins; one pound of
suet, chopped fine; ^ pound of stale bread crumbs; one-fourth pound
of brown sugar; grated rind of one lemon; J4 pound of flour; one
pound cleaned currants; ^ nutmeg, grated; five eggs; one cup milk;
one-half pound chopped candied peel. Mix all the dry ingredients; then
beat the eggs, add the milk to them, pour over the other materials, and
mix well; it will require very hard stirring, as it is stifle. Put in
greased molds holding one quart each, cover with well-floured cloth, and
boil for six hours. Store away, and when used boil for six hours more.

Plum Pudding. — Fill a deep baking pan to the depth of two inches
with seeded plums, well sugared. Dot with bits of butter and put over
the top a thick, good light biscuit crust with holes for the steam to
escape. Bake 40 minutes and serve with the juice from canned plums
or cream. This is good pudding when canning is going on to use up
the surplus juice. Seeded grapes, peaches, apples or cherries may be
used instead of plums.

Plum Roll.— Sift together one pint of flour, one teaspoonful of bak-
ing powder and one-half teaspoonful of salt; rub into the prepared flour
one tablespoonful of butter and make into soft dough with milk or
water; roll out quite thin, sprinkle with one cup of seeded chopped rai-

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 65

sins, one-fourth of a cup of chopped citron and half a teaspoonful of
cinnamon ; roll up and steam for 40 minutes ; serve hot, with hard sauce.

Poor Man's Pudding. — One cupful sour milk, one cupful of mo-
lasses, one cupful of cold water, two cupfuls Indian meal, half a cup of
butter, one tgg, one teaspoonful of soda, one teaspoonful of cinnamon,
one saltspoonful of salt. Beat all together thoroughly. Pour into a
greased pudding pan and bake two hours in a moderately hot oven.

Poverty Pudding. — Chop one cup of suet very fine; stone one cup
of raisins; add one cup of molasses to the suet; then add milk, one
cupful ; add one-half teaspoonful of salt, three cupfuls of sifted flour
and one teaspoonful of cinnamon; beat hard for three minutes; add
raisins well floured and three level teaspoonfuls of baking powder ; turn
into a greased mold and boil three hours ; serve with hard sauce.

Prune Sago. — After washing one-half pound of prunes put them to
soak till well puffed out, then put them into a stewpan with enough cold
water to cover them. Cook till soft; pass the fruit through a fine sieve,
after stoning it. Mix with it some pearl sago that has been well boiled.
There should be equal quantities of fruit pulp and sago. Heat up, but
do not boil ; if too stiff thin with a little milk or water, season with
lemon juice; it will be sweet enough for ordinary palates. Pour into a
jelly mold and when cold turn on a glass dish. Serve with whipped
cream or boiled custard.

Pumpkin Custard. — One quart of hot milk, a large cup of strained
squash or pumpkin, a teaspoonful of butter and one of salt, a cupful of
sugar in which half a teaspoonful of cinnamon and a pinch of ginger
have been mixed, and three eggs beaten light. Mix pumpkin and milk,
add other ingredients, the eggs last, pour into custard cups which must
be set in a pan of hot water. Bake until firm, about half an hour, testing
with a knife blade. If it comes out clean they are done. Serve ice-cold.

Queen's Pudding. — Take about a quart of good, rich, sweet milk, and
half a pint of bread crumbs, minus the crust. Milk and bread are scalded
together, and cooled enough to work through the colander. In this
way the bread is worked smooth, and is thoroughly mixed with the milk.
To this mixture are added the yolks of four eggs and the whites of two,
about two-thirds of a cup of sugar, and one spoonful of butter. Beat
the ingredients together very thoroughly, for the success of the pudding
depends much on the beating. Flavor with nutmeg. Bake it in a very
moderately hot oven, like a custard pie, which should never come to a
boil. When baked, beat the whites of two eggs to a stiff froth and add
three or four spoonfuls of granulated sugar for the frosting. Spread a
good layer of jelly upon the pudding, and over this spread the frosting,
and set in the oven till it browns, which takes but a very few minutes
if the oven is hot. To be eaten with cream and sugar.

66 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Raisin Steamed Pudding. — Blend a piece of butter the size of an egg
with one cupful of sugar, to this add one beaten tgg, half a cupful of
milk, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, sifted with two cupfuls of
flour, and one cupful of seeded raisins dredged in flour. Fill cups par-
tially full with the batter and steam three-quarters of an hour. Serve
either with boiled sauce or sweetened cream.

Baked Raspberry Pudding.— Line a small pudding dish with rich puff
paste and prick with a fork. Bake a light brown and set it aside until
cold. Beat very light the whites of four eggs, add slowly one cup of
sugar, and lastly stir in a quart of red raspberries. Heap this lightly into
the cooked shell in the pudding dish, return to the oven and bake 15
to 20 minutes. Have the oven just moderately hot.

Boiled Raspberry Pudding. — Open a can of canned or preserved rasp-
berries and drain off the liquor, saving it for sauce for the pudding.
Make a rich biscuit dough; roll this into a sheet a half inch thick,
spread thickly with the berries, sprinkle bits of butter over these and
roll up the sheet of dough as you would a sheet of music. Put into a
floured cloth and boil for three hours. Add to the raspberry liquor a
little sugar and boil up once. Take the pudding from the cloth, lay on
a dish and pour the steaming sauce over it.

Red Pudding.— A pint of red currants, a pint of raspberries, and a
pint of cold water; mix, and add sugar to taste. Thus, if a rather sour
pudding is desired, two teacupfuls of sugar will be sufficient to sweeten
these ingredients, but if, on the other hand, it is a sweeter pudding that
is required, the amount of sugar must be increased correspondingly. To
this mixture add cinnamon — two sticks, each about three inches in length
will be sufficient — already broken into bits, and when all these ingre-
dients have boiled together for half an hour in a porcelain-lined stew-
pan, press the juice through a sieve into another receptacle, and, adding
a teacupful of blanched almonds and citron that have been chopped finely
together, cook again for another 20 minutes. When nearly done, thicken
with cornstarch. Set aside in a wet mold until it has had time to be-
come hard; then serve it in slices covered thickly with rich cream.

Rice Pudding. — Have one pint of rice boiled done and still hot. Into
this stir one cup of raisins to swell and begin cooking in the hot mass.
When nearly cold beat together three eggs, one quart of milk, one cup
sugar and vanilla to taste. Add the rice and raisins, stirring till smooth
and free from lumps. This pudding will have a delicious thick custard
on top of the layer of rice if properly made and is better than the old
style of nearly solid pudding. Bake one hour and serve with sweet milk

Lemon Rice Pudding.— Boil a cup of well washed rice in a quart of
milk until very soft. Add to ii while hot the beaten yolks of three eggs,
the juice and grated rind of two lemons, eight tablespoonfuls of sugar

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 67

and a pinch of salt. If too thick, add a little milk. It should be rather
thicker than boiled custard. Turn it into a pudding Crtsh, beat the
whites of the eggs very stiff with six tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar,
spread over the top and brown delicately in a slow oven.

Rhubarb Cobbler. — Fill a deep, buttered, earthenware pie dish with
rhubarb cut into pieces an inch long. Make a batter of eggs, flour, milk
and salt, allowing a large tablespoonful of flour to each egg and milk
enough to make a batter thick as for fritter batter. Pour this over the
rhubarb and bake until the pudding is light and nicely browned.

Rhubarb Puffs. — One cupful of finely chopped rhubarb, one cupful
of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of butter creamed with the sugar, add two
well-beaten eggs, one-quarter of a cup of milk, flour with one teaspoonful
of baking powder well mixed into it, to make a thick batter. Fill well-
greased cups half full and steam for half an hour. The sauce to serve
with these puffs is made by creaming together one-half cupful of pow-
dered sugar and a small half cupful of butter, then add by degrees one
whipped &gg, beating until perfectly smooth. The last thing before serv-
ing stir in three tablespoonfuls of boiling water.

Boiled Rhubarb Pudding. — IMake three cups of flour into dough as
for baking powder biscuit. Roll one-fourth inch thick; cover with rhu-
barb that has been cut in inch pieces and scalded. Wipe dry before
spreading on the crust. Sprinkle liberally with sugar and add a dash
of nutmeg if desired. Make a roll of the dough and cook in steamer,
or tie up in floured cloth and drop in boiling water. Cook 30 to 45
minutes; serve with foamy sauce.

Rhubarb Bread Pudding. — Peel the rhubarb and cut it into small
pieces. Cover the bottom of a pudding dish with pieces of buttered
bread. Over this put a layer of rhubarb. Pour over it a half-teaspoon-
ful of lemon juice, and cover liberally with sugar. Add another layer of
bread and butter, rhubarb, lemon and sugar. Repeat until the dish is
full, covering the last layer of rhubarb with well-buttered bread crumbs.
Cover the dish, and steam for one hour. Then remove the lid and bake
it slowly until it is nicely browned.

Rhubarb Tapioca. — Prepare the rhubarb as for stewing; place in a
deep baking dish and add sugar enough to sweeten well, a little shredded
orange peel, salt and dot with bits of butter. Add one quart of water
to half a cupful of fine tapioca. Add a pinch of salt and cook in a
double boiler for 15 minutes. Then pour over the rhubarb, cover the
dish and bake half an hour. Serve with sweetened whipped cream.

Sour Milk Pudding. — Soak four slices of stale bread in a little milk
or water until soft. Then stir in a quart of rich, sour milk, a cupful
of molasses, a tablespoonful of melte-d butter, a teaspoonful each of
cloves and cinnamon, saltspoonful of salt. Bake slowly three hours.

G8 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Steamed Pudding. — One cupful molasses, one &gg, one cupful hot
water, one teaspoonful saleratus, one tablespoonful butter, one cupful
raisins, stoned, a little salt, flour enough to make stiff as cake, steam
two hours. With this pudding use the following sauce which is de-
licious : Cream until very light one cupful of brown sugar, and nearly
cne-half cupful butter, a little salt, and one-fourth teaspoonful of va-
nilla. Just before serving beat in the unbeaten white of one tgg.

Strawberry Dumplings. — They will require one egg, a cup of sweet
milk, a tablespoonful of melted butter, a heaping teaspoonful of baking
powder, and flour enough to make a batter that will be a trifle thicker
than that which is commonly used for griddle cakes. Pour a little of
this batter into buttered tins, or porcelain cups ; place a number of well-
sweetened berries in the center and cover them with more batter; then
steam for about half an hour. Serve with a sauce made by mashing
some strawberries and incorporating them into an ordinary hard butter-
and-sugar sauce.

Strawberry Pudding. — One cup cleaned strawberries, place in an
earthen bowl, set in steamer over a pot of cold water, place over the fire;
while this is heating and coming to a boil make a batter of the follow-
ing: One heaping cup of flour with two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking
powder and one-half teaspoonful of salt; sift all together two or three
times, then add sweet milk or water to make a soft batter that will drop
easily from spoon. Lift the lid of steamer and drop quickly over the
strawberries, covering them all over nicely. Steam for 40 minutes ; do
not let the water stop boiling. This quantity makes enough pudding
for four persons. Eat either with cream and sugar or a sauce made as
follows: Break one egg in a dish, add one heaping tablespoonful of
granulated sugar, beat light, then add dessertspoonful of flour and a
pinch of salt; beat well again; then add slowly boiling water until the
sauce is of the required thickness (about like nice cream) ; flavor to
taste. This sauce is very nice with any kind of pudding, especially cot-
tage pudding.

Sweet Potato Pudding. — One quart grated raw sweet potato, one
quart milk, three eggs, two cupfuls sugar, piece of butter the size of an
e.gg, one-half teaspoonful of salt, cinnamon and allspice to taste. Mix
well, put in a buttered earthen pudding dish, and bake two hours in a
moderate oven.

Steamed Sweet Potato Pudding. — Take two cupfuls of grated raw
potatoes, one cupful of grated carrots, two cupfuls of currants, one
cupful of raisins stoned and chopped, one cupful of minced suet, one cup-
ful of sugar, one teaspoonful each of salt and soda, and flour enough
to make a stiff batter. Place in a greased mold and steam two hours.
Serve with boiled sauce.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 69

Suet Pudding. — One cupful molasses, one cupful beef suet chopped
fine, one cupful sour milk, one teaspoonful saleratus, one cupful stoned
raisins, one-half teaspoonful salt, four cupfuls flour. Mix thoroughly.
Put in a buttered basin in the steamer over a kettle of boiling water.
Steam for four hours. Do not disturb while steaming; at least not for
the first hour.

French Tapioca Pudding. — Scald one pint of milk over hot water.
Stir in one-third of a cup of a quick cooking tapioca, mixed with a
few grains of salt and one-fourth a cup of sugar. Stir and cook about
ten minutes, then add very gradually to three eggs (or two whole eggs
and the whites of two more), beaten very light and thick. Also add a
grating of lemon rind and a tablespoonful of butter. Turn into a tur-
ban-shaped mold, thoroughly buttered and dusted with sugar, and bake,
standing in a pan of water, one hour. Serve cold, turned from the
mold and surrounded with a fruit sauce. This is a rich, yet delicate
pudding.

Taylor Pudding. — Stir into a cup of sweet milk a level teaspoonful
of soda and a teaspoonful of salt. Beat into the milk a cup of Porto
Rican molasses and stir the wet ingredients slowly into two cups of well-
sifted flour. Beat the batter well and pour it into a greased cake tin.
It will be about the consistency of cake batter. Bake it in a hot oven
for about thirty or forty minutes. When it is nearly done prepare a
liquid sauce, as follows : Put in a saucepan five tablespoonfuls of sugar
and 10 tablespoonfuls of water. Let it boil for four minutes and then
add three level tablespoonfuls of butter and flavor well with nutmeg.
When the pudding is done turn it out on a platter and carry it to the
table. Serve it cut in thick slices with the liquid sauce.

Yorkshire Pudding. — This is a batter pudding cooked where it will
receive the drippings from the roasting meat, and it is very good; as
originally made it was cooked in front of an open fire, where it would
receive drippings from the meat cooking upon a spit. About an hour
before the roast of beef is done drain off the gravy, leaving about two
tablespoonfuls in the dripping pan. The meat should be laid upon a rack
over the pan, so as to raise it up. The pudding requires three eggs, one
pint of milk, six large tablespoonfuls of flour, one-half teaspoonful of
salt, and two dashes of pepper. Beat the eggs until light, then add the
milk. Put the flour into a bowl, moisten it gradually with the eggs and
milk, beat until smooth ; strain it through a sieve to avoid lumps, add the
pepper and salt, pour it into the dripping pan and bake. Cut into squares
or strips, and serve around the meat.

CHAPTER VI.

APPLES.

Apple ! Apple ! Call for Apple !

Everywhere you go !
Closely watch the bill of fare,
And if apple is not there,
Then proceed at once to pare,
Cook and landlord down with care.

Since apples play a large part in farmhouse economy, it has been
thought well to group recipes for their use together, rather than sepa-
rating them in various chapters. A few other apple recipes will "be
found, however, included among jellies and preserves, cakes and pastry.

Baked Apples. — Pare and core cooking apples ; put in a granite pan ;
put over them a cupful of sugar, butter the size of a walnut; cover; bake
until almost done; take the cover off and let them brown. When apples
are baked in a covered earthen dish or casserole flavor and appearance
are at their best. Pare and core the apples, sprinkle them with sugar
and a little powdered cloves and cinnamon. Add a little water, cover the
dish, and bake a long time in a slow oven. The apples cook to a deep
red, and are very tender and rich in flavor. Honey is a desirable addi-
tion to baked apples. Wipe or peel the apples, and remove the core
without running the knife clear through. Into this hollow put a bit of
butter and a teaspoonful of honey, and bake after the ordinary manner.

Baked Apples in Jelly. — Peel, core and quarter a quart of apples, add
half a cupful of water and three-fourths cupful of sugar, put in a cov-
ered earthen dish and cook three to four hours in a slow oven, when
they should be dark red in color. Then mix with the apples a cupful
of liquid lemon jelly, and set in a mold to harden. These baked apples
are also very nice eaten warm without the jelly.

Fancy Baked Apples. — Peel and core medium-sized tart apples. Put
them in a baking dish and pour half a cup of water over them. Set in
a hot oven, and when the apples are heated, sprinkle with enough sugar
to coat each and bake until tender. Make a syrup of one cup of water,
half a cup of sugar, the juice of half a lemon, and a teaspoonful of the
grated rind. Add two tablespoonfuls of chopped raisins, two of chopped
candied cherries, two of chopped candied pineapple, and two of chopped
almonds, and when the sugar is dissolved set at the back of the stove and
let cook slowly for half an hour. When the apples are done put in little
glass saucers, taking care not to break them. Fill with the cooked
sweets and pour the syrup over them. Serve cold with whipped cream.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 71

Boiled Apples in Syrup. — Rub the apples clean, but do not peel, and
stick four cloves into each. Put in earthen dish, half cover with cold
water, and add otie cup of sugar to each pint of water. Place upon
stove and cook until apple skins crack; remove apples, then boil down
syrup until it is like jelly, and pour over the fruit.

Apple Butter. — Apple butter should be made from new cider, fresh
from the press, and not yet fermented. Fill a porcelain-lined kettle with
cider and boil until reduced one-half. Then boil another kettleful in
the same way, and so continue until you have sufficient quantity. To
every four gallons of boiled cider allow a half-bushel of nice juicy
apples, pared, cored and quartered. The cider should be boiled the day
before you make the apple butter. Fill a very large kettle with the
boiled cider and add as many apples as can be kept moist. Stir fre-
quently, and when the apples are soft beat with a wooden stick until they
arc reduced to a pulp. Cook and stir continuously until the consistency
is that of soft marmalade and the color is a very dark brown. Have
boiled cider at hand in case it becomes too thick, and apples if too thin.
Twenty minutes before you take it from the fire add ground cinnamon,
and nutmeg to taste. It requires no sugar. When cold, put into stone
jars and cover closely.

Apple Dumplings. — Pare, quarter and core tart apples. Put one table-
spoonful of baking powder in one quart of flour, add one cupful of lard
and half a teaspoonful of salt and mix with sweet milk, make stiffer than
for biscuits, roll and cut in squares and put around the pieces of apple.
Into a deep pudding dish put one quart of water, one cupful of sugar
and a small lump of butter. Set it on top of the stove and let it come
to a boil. Then put in the dumplings and bake in a brisk oven one hour.

Apple Dumplings with Bread Dough. — Take out about a pint of bread
dough in the morning when it is ready to go in the baking pans, more
or less according to the size of the family; add shortening half the size
of an egg, mix through the dough and set aside until an hour and a
half before dinner. Then cut the dough into as many pieces as there are
persons to serve and roll out. Pare and core good, tart apples, set one
on each sheet of dough, putting a teaspoonful of sugar and a small lump
of butter in the place of the cere, fold the dough about the apple, pinch-
ing it tightly together, set them in a deep earthen dish and let rise half
an hour; then sprinkle a tablespoonful of sugar over them and pour on
one cupful of cold water and bake half an hour in a hot oven. It may
be well to cover them with a greased paper to keep them from getting
too brown or crusty. Eat warm with cream and sugar or any sauce
preferred. Also excellent steamed.

Boiled Apple Dumplings. — Pare eight fine apples and cut them in
quarters, remove the cores. Roll the suet crust out half an inch thick and

72 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

cut into round pieces. Dust each piece of apple with a little sugar and
cinnamon and place four sections on each round of paste. Gather up
the edges and pinch them together over the apple. When all the dump-
lings are made, drop them into a kettle of boiling water and let them
boil gently for an hour. Take them up on a hot dish and serve with
plain, sweetened cream. If you want to serve the dumplings "just as
grandmother did," sweeten the cream with "treacle."

Kenilworth Ranch Dumplings. — Take a quart of flour, one cup of
good lard and half-cup of butter ; rub this into the flour after it is sifted
with one teaspoonful of baking powder; add enough milk to make a
soft dough. This is rolled cut quickly into a sheet an inch thick and
then cut in squares. Into each square is laid a half apple, peeled and
cored, and the crust tucked around it. Have ready in a dripping pan
a syrup made of one cupful of sugar to one of water ; lay the dumplings
in; bake in quick oven 30 to 40 minutes. Serve with an old-fashioned
molasses sauce.

Farmhouse Apples. — Peel and core tart apples, fill the space from
which the cores were taken with seeded raisins, bits of shredded citron,
sugar and a little lemon peel; stand them in a baking pan, pour over
them half a cup of water and dust with about two tablespoonfuls of
granulated sugar. Bake in a slow oven until perfectly tender, then
sprinkle bread crumbs over the top ; dust again with sugar, and leave
them in the oven for 10 minutes. While they are baking mix a table-
spoonful of flour with a half cup sugar; pour over half a pint of boiling
water, and boil a moment ; take from the fire, and pour slowly over one
well-beaten tgg; add the juice of half a lemon. Pour over the apples
and serve warm.

Apple Fool. — Peel, core and quarter six large apples, cook them until
tender with three or four cloves, a small piece of lemon peel, half a
cupful of sugar and a teacupful of water. Remove the cloves and lemon
peel, beat well with a fork and stir in one-fourth pint of thick, sweet
cream. Cut any kind of delicate cake into rather thin slices and place a
layer in the bottom of a glass dish. Pour over it diluted red currant
jelly, then cover with a thick layer of the apple fool, then another layer
of cake and currant jelly, and heap the remainder of the apple fool over
the top. With each helping serve a large spoonful of whipped cream
flavored with almond.

Hidden Apples. — Butter a deep tin pan, cover the bottom with a layer
of pared and quartered apples. In another dish beat an egg well, put in
enough sugar to sweeten the apples, add a little water, thicken with
powdered bread crumbs, flavor highly with lemon. Pour this mixture
over apples and bake until the apples are done, which will take about
20 minutes in a hot oven.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 73

Apple Johnny Cake. — Mix two cupfuls of cornmeal, a saltspoonful of
salt, a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, a scant half-cupful of sugar, half
a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little warm water and milk to make
a thin batter. Stir in three sour apples that have been peeled and cut
into thin slices. Bake in a shallow tin in a moderate oven for 35 minutes.
Apple Kisses. — Select six small, smooth apples. Pare, cut in half and
remove the core. Mix one-half a cupful of sugar with one-third cupful
of butter. Place this mixture between the halves of the apples. Place
in a baking dish with a little water and a teaspoonful of vanilla extract-
Bake till apples are soft. Serve with their own juice for sauce.

Apple Pancakes. — Measure two cupfuls of sifted flour; add half a
teaspoonful of salt and sift again. Then stir in gradually two cupfuls of
cold water and the beaten yolks of three or four eggs, making a per-
fectly smooth batter. When well mixed, fold in the whites of the eggs
beaten to a froth. Place a tablespoonful of fat in an iron frying pan
and when hot pour in enough batter to cover the bottom of the pan
quarter of an inch thick ; have a few nicely-flavored apples, pared, cored
and finely minced; sprinkle a layer of the apple over the cake (not too
much, or the pancake is liable to break). As the cake cooks, slip a
flexible knife under it, lifting it so it will not burn, and shake the pan
gently to and fro. When the pancake is a light brown on under side,
slip it on to a hot plate, put a piece of butter on top of the apples, hold
the frying pan over it and deftly turn the cake back into the pan and
cover and cook until the apples are soft. Then slip it out of pan on to a
hot plate; set the plate over hot water to keep the cake warm and con-
tinue frying up remainder of the batter in same manner. Serve them
separately or piled, one upon the other. Serve with sugar sprinkled over
them and oranges or lemons cut in halves for squeezing over them. This
quantity of batter should make four cakes. Do not have your pan too
large.

Apple Custard Pancakes. — Beat four eggs light, adding to them a half
pint of cream and a little ground cinnamon. Peel and core the apples,
cut them in thin slices and fry them tender in a little butter. When
browned slightly, turn them over, pour in the custard and fry to a light
brown. Turn out on a hot flat dish and sprinkle powdere(l sugar over
the pancake.

Apple Pie. — As a variation from the ordinary pie with two crusts,
slice apples into a deep earthen pie dish, sweeten and flavor to taste, and
cover with a top crust only. The absence of a soggy bottom crust is
usually viewed as an advantage.

Apple Custard Pie. — Peel and cut apples very fine. Line a deep pan
with crust, put in the apples; scatter over them small pieces of butter
and a covering of granulated sugar. Then pour over all a cupful of

74 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

sweet cream and bake until the apples are cooked. Serve just before it
is quite cold.

Dutch Apple Pie. — Make a rich puff paste and line deep pie plate.
Core and cut into eighths as many rich tart apples as will fill the pie
plate by laying each piece of apple with the curved side up, just as close
together as can be placed; over the top sprinkle half cup light brown
sugar, half teaspoonful cinnamon and tablespoonful flour. Dot bits of
butter over the top and add half cup water; bake slowly and carefully
until apples are tender and water absorbed. Serve warm with cheese.

Dried Apple Pie. — Cook a large handful of dried apples quickly in a
tightly-covered granite basin in a little less than a quart of water. Six
halves of dried apricots are cut fine and cooked in very little water. Fill
in the apple, then the apricot, together with water they were cooked in;
add a small cupful of sugar, and nutmeg, making the pie with two crusts,
and bake quickly.

Apple Pot-pie. — Serve this with maple-sugar sauce. Half fill a deep
dish with sour apples which have been quartered, pared and cored. Pour
over them a little boiling water and place in a hot oven until tender.
Make a crust as for baking powder biscuit, roll out an inch thick; lay
it over the apples and return to the oven for about 40 minutes or until
the crust is done. For the sauce cook together two tablespoonfuls of
butter and one teaspoonful of flour, add half a cupful of maple syrup
and a tiny pinch of mace, and cook until clear and smooth.

Apple Pudding. — Make a dough as for baking powder biscuit; roll out
one-quarter inch thick. Peel and slice good tart apples rather thin; put
them in the middle of the dough, put on them half a cupful of sugar,
tablespoonful of butter, and nutmeg. Wet the edges, lap over the apples
well to keep the juice in, put over the apples a little water, put pudding
in a cheesecloth bag, and boil two hours steady. Eat with good cream.

Baked Apple Pudding. — Butter a granite or enameled pie tin and fill
it with pared and quartered Duchess apples, cut in rather thick slices.
Cover with a thick batter made from a cup of flour, in which a teaspoon-
ful of baking powder, a saltspoon of salt and a tablespoon of butter
have been well mixed. Add two-thirds of a cup of sweet milk, or sour
milk in which a quarter of a teaspoon of soda has been dissolved; wc
prefer the sour milk. Only about half as much baking powder is
required with the sour milk as when sweet milk is used, but we always
use some and find that it makes the food lighter and better than where
soda alone is used. When the pudding is done reverse it on a plate,
spread with butter and sprinkle over it a half cup of sugar, add a few
gratings of nutmeg. Eat with cream.

Canadian Pudding. — One quart of quartered sour apples, one-half cup-
ful of sugar, one-fourth cupful of water, a pinch of grated nutmeg. Bake

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 75

these ingredients together 20 minutes in a deep pudding dish ; then remove
and pour over the apples the following batter: One cupful of flour, one
tablespoonful sugar, one-fourth teaspoonful salt, one beaten egg, two
tablespoonfuls of soft butter. Return to the oven, increase the heat and
bake for 20 minutes more. Serve with maple sauce made as follows:
Add to one thoroughly-beaten egg one cupful of grated maple sugar, one
cupful of whipped cream, one-half teaspoonful of vanilla. In Vermont,
where this recipe was obtained, a bowl of grated maple sugar invariably
accompanied most desserts. Pudding sauces were always well covered
with it.

Caramel Pudding. — Peel, core and slice enough sour apples to measure
one pint. Cook them slowly in a saucepan in two tablespoonfuls of
butter until soft; then add one cupful of sugar, one-quarter of a tea-
spoonful of cinnamon, two tablespoonfuls of caramel and simmer for
twenty minutes. Mix together one and one-half cupfuls of stale bread
crumbs, one-half cupful of crumbled stale macaroons and one-half cupful
of seedless raisins. Butter a deep dish and fill with alternate layers of
the apples and bread mixture, having crumbs on top. Bake three-quarters
of an hour in a rather hot oven, and serve cold with whipped cream.

Eureka Pudding.^Put one or two quarts of boiling water in stewpan,
add cornmeal to make a thick gruel, and teaspoonful of salt. Let it boil
long and slowly. While cooking peel and slice five or six (more or less)
good cooking apples ; add to gruel. Let boil tender, add sugar and boil
longer as for apple sauce. Turn into a mold and eat hot or cold with
cream or boiled milk. This can be improved by putting the whites of
eggs beaten stiff into pudding before taken from the fire ; add the yolks
to the boiled milk and serve with the pudding.

German Pudding. — Pare, core and slice eight or 10 sour apples and
put in a deep pudding dish, sweetening with one cupful of sugar, and
sprinkling with a little lemon juice. Pour over them a rich egg batter,
bake in a moderate oven one hour, and serve cold.

Indian Apple Pudding. — Take one-half of a cup of molasses, one quart
of milk, one teaspoonful of salt, three scant cups of pared and sliced
apples, to which add a quarter of a teaspoonful of ginger and cinnamon.
When the milk boils in the double boiler, pour it slowly on the meal.
Cook half an hour in the boiler, stirring often. Now add the other
ingredients ; pour into a deep, well-greased pudding dish and bake slowly.
Eat with cream or maple syrup.

Queen Apple Pudding. — Make a rich pie crust, and roll out in an
oblong sheet. Spread with chopped apples, cinnamon, sugar and butter
(cream the sugar and butter together for convenience in spreading), roll
up like a jelly cake, and cut off in two-inch lengths. Stand the slices in
a dripping pan, with a Uttle water arpund them, an4 b^e thoroughly for

76 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

30 minutes. Very good either hot or cold. If desired it may be baked
in the entire roll, instead of slices.

Apple Roly-Poly.— Mix a half cupful of finely-chopped suet, one egg,
one teaspoonful of baking powder, three-quarters of a cupful of cold
water and a quarter of a teaspoonful of salt, with flour enough to make
a stiff paste. Roll out the paste in a sheet about three-quarters of an
•nch thick, brush it over with the yolk of the tgg and sprinkle with
one tablespoonful of fine bread crumbs. Spread over it three apples
peeled and sliced thin. Sprinkle with one-half tablespoonful of sugar
and roll the paste. Brush the loU with egg, sprinkle it with bread crumbs
and roll it in a napkin that has been wrung out of hot water and that
has been covered on one side with flour. Lap the ends over securely, tie
with a string and boil in water that has been slightly salted for an hour
and a half. Serve with lemon sauce.

Sour Apple Pudding. — Peel and slice several sour cooking apples into
a pudding dish ; add sugar and water as for stewing. Cover and bake
until nearly tender. Sift together two cupfuls of flour, three tablespoon-
fuls of baking powder, and a scant half teaspoonful of salt. Beat one
€^gg, mix in half a cup of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of melted butter and'
one cupful of milk, then stir the latter into the dry ingredients. Pour the
batter over the partly cooked apples, and bake about 20 minutes. Serve
with whipped cream or a creamy sauce made with sugar, white of egg,
and lump of butter,

Apple Souffle. — Stew the apples as if for sauce, adding a little lemon
peel and juice. Spread the stewed apples high around a baking dish.
Make a custard of the yolks of two eggs, a pint of milk, a pinch of
cinnamon and a tablespoonful of sugar. Let the custard cool and then
pour it into the dish with ths apples. Beat the whites of the eggs and
spread over the top, sprinkling with sugar, and set it in the oven to brown.
The apples should be about an inch thick at the bottom and sides of
the dish.

Spiced Apples with Cider. — Boil together one cupful of cider, one-
quarter cupful vinegar, one cupful brown sugar, one bay leaf, two tea-
spoonfuls whole allspice, two dozen whole cloves, two inches stick cinna-
mon, two blades mace. Pare and core eight large, tart apples, cut in
quarters and add to the boiling syrup ; simmer gently until tender, but
not broken. Take out the fruit carefully, boil syrup until thick as honey,
pour over apples and serve cold. These are delicious with roast goose,
duck or pork or any cold meat.

Navy Apple Shortcake. — Butter thickly an oblong granite baking dish.
Halve and core as many good cooking apples as will fit tightly in dish;
cover thickly with sugar (about a coffee cupful), several grates of nut-
meg and three tablespoonfuls of boiling water; make a righ shortcake

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THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 77

dough and roll and cover the apples; bake in a quick oven half an
hour; loosen round the edges of the crust, turn it upside down on a hot
platter, with a heated knife cut into squares and serve at once.

Apple Sponge. — Beat the yolks of three eggs with half a cupful of
powdered sugar ; flavor with lemon ; beat for about 10 minutes ; add to
it the beaten whites of the eggs. Peel three big tender apples ; cut them
in thin little slices-; sift half a cupful of flour with half a teaspoonful
baking powder and mix well with the former; put it in a buttered baking
pan and bake in moderate oven for half an hour; spread powdered sugar
over and serve.

Apple Puffs. — Chop four sour apples very fine, stir into them one
beaten tgg, one- fourth cupful molasses, a cupful and a half of cornmeal,
the same amount of sifted flour and half a teaspoonful of salt; dissolve
half a teaspoonful of soda in warm water and add it, using enough water
to make a thin batter. Bake in buttered cups in a quick oven.

Royal George. — Dissolve half a teaspoonful of soda in a little warm
water; add to a cupful of sour cream with a pinch of salt. Then add
flour enough to make a dough stiff enough to roll out. Roll this paste
very thin and line a deep pudding dish with it, reserving a little for the
top. Fill the dish with tart apples, pared and quartered. Sprinkle half a
cupful of s.ugar over them and dust with cinnamon. Cover with the rest
of the paste, cut out in rings and diamonds, and bake until the apples
are done. Eat hot with cream or sugar and butter beaten to a white
cream.

Scalloped Apples. — Pare and quarter tart apples. Put in the baking
dish a layer of cracker crumbs, cover liberally with butter and granu-
lated sugar. Then lay the apples with edges lapping and sprinkle chopped
almonds over them. Then put more crumbs, butter and sugar, then
another layer of apples, and sprinkle lightly with crumbs, butter, sugar
and cinnamon. Bake until apples are done. Serve with rich cream.

Red Apple Sauce. — Wash and quarter — do not pare — enough red
apples to fill the bean pot ; sprinkle over a cupful of sugar — more or less,
according to the size of the pot — cover and place in the oven on ironing
day. Cook three or four hours and pour into a pretty glass dish to cool.
The result will be a delicious surprise in the matter of rich flavor and
dainty appearance.

Baked Apple Sauce. — Wash and rub dry a sufficient number of Baldwin
apples. Remove peel in long strips. Butter a beanpot and fill with the
cored and sliced apples, packed in layers. Sprinkle each layer generously
with sugar, and sparingly with tiny bits of butter, then cover with strips
of peel. Repeat until the beanpot is full. Bake in a slow oven for two
hours. Pour out, and with a fork remove the strips of peel. Serve
heaped in sherbet glasses and topped with a spoonful of whipped cream.

78 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Instead of the usual watery mass, you will have a rich red sauce, deli-
cately flavored with the peel, and of about the consistency of marmalade.

Steamed Apple Sauce. — Pare and slice the apples rather thinner than
for sauce cooked in the usual way, dropping- into cold water as you slice
them. Drain, turn into the inner vessel of a double boiler, and fit on the
cover. Fill the outer kettle with warm water and bring to a steady boil.
Keep this up for half an hour after the boil begins, then lift the lid and
beat the soft apple to a mush with a spoon. Close and cook 15 minutes
longer. Run through a colander or a vegetable press, sweeten to taste
while hot, and set away to cool.

Apple Slump. — INfake a thin apple sauce, sweeten and flavor with nut-
meg; have about two quarts when done. Take pint flour, mix as for
biscuit dough, drop the dough by small spoonfuls into the boiling sauce,
after they have risen and got set turn over. When done take dumplings
out in a deep dish and pour sauce over them; serve hot.

Apple Butter Without Cider. — Procure a new 50-pound lard can, eight
pounds light brown sugar. Peel and slice the apples. Then commence
to fill the can, first a layer of apples, then a layer of sugar, and so on
until the can is full. Cover tightly and let it stand 12 hours. Place on
stove and when it begins to boil set it back on the stove until it simmers,
or boils gently. Do not take ofT lid for five hours. Then remove and
put in ground cloves and cinnamon to suit your taste.

Suet Apple Dumplings. — One cup of chopped suet, two cups of flour,
one teaspoonful of salt, mix with cold water into a dough ; put the apples
in as for pudding; tie in little cloths; drop into boiling water; boil one
hour. Use any sauce, or sugar only.

CHAPTER VII.

BREAD AND MUFFINS.

Here is the recipe for making good bread, given by the great milling
companies and used by food demonstrators : To one quart of lukewarm
liquid — half water and half milk, or water alone — add two half-oance
compressed yeast cakes, or the usual quantity of liquid yeast, and stir
until dissolved. Add one teaspoonful of salt and three tablespoonfuls
of sugar, and when well dissolved stir in with wooden spoon three quarts
of well-sifted flour, or until dough is sufficiently stiff to be turned from
the mixing bowl to the molding board in a mass. If shortening is desired
add two tablespoonfuls lard. Knead this dough, adding if necessary
from time to time, flour until it becomes smooth and elastic and ceases
to stick to fingers or board. Do not make dough too stiff. Spring wheat
flour needs a little more working than Winter wheat, and should be a
little softer to make it rise properly. Put dough into well-greased
earthen bowl, brush lightly with melted butter or drippings, cover with
towel and set in warm place, about 75 degrees, for two hours, or until
light, then knead well and return to bowl, cover as before and set for
another hour's rising, or until light. When light, form gently into loaves
or rolls, place in greased bread pans, brush with butter or drippings,
cover again and let stand for one and one-half hour, then bake. When
bread becomes stale it may be made palatable again and as good as
new, or even better than new, by wetting the old loaf with cold water,
putting in the pan and rebaking it in the oven 20 to 45 minutes. It will,
if originally good, come out moist and fresh.

Boston Brown Bread. — Two cupfuls Indian meal ; one cupful whole
wheat flour; one cupful sour milk; one-third cupful molasses; one tea-
spoonful soda ; one-half teaspoonful salt. Mix and steam three hours,
then brown m hot oven with the lid removed from the can. There are
tin molds made smaller at the bottom than the top, so the loaf slips out
nicely — the lid fitting on the outside of the tin to prevent the water
getting in the bread, but any small tin pail with tight lid will answer
the purpose. It is better to place an iron lid or ring in the bottom of
the kettle to prevent the mold from coming too close to the fire. Slice
around the loaf, not perpendicularly.

Easy Brown Bread. — For one loaf take one cup of sour milk, one cup
of sweet milk, one teaspoon of salt, one-half cup of molasses with one
teaspoon of soda thoroughly stirred in; add one-half cup of white flour
and about three cups oi graham flour. Mix so stiff that a little dough

80 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

dropped from the spoon will not quickly settle. Put in a deep bread
pan and bake in a moderately hot oven for one hour. If not stiff enough,
the top crust may separate from the rest of the loaf.

Entire Wheat Bread. — ^One pint milk, scalded and cooled, one table-
spoonful sugar, one teaspoonful salt, one-half cupful yeast, about five
or six cupfuls whole wheat flour. In the morning mix in the order
given, and knead until smooth and elastic. Let rise till light, allow it
to rise a little longer, and then bake a little longer, and in an oven not
quite so hot, as for white bread. Whole-wheat bread rises more than
white bread, because the flour contains more gluten. Sometimes we
make a sponge with white flour, in the same proportion as for ordinary
bread, and then thicken and knead with the entire wheat flour.

Light Bread. — Into two quarts of wheat flour stir a teaspoonful of
granulated sugar and a half teaspoonful of salt, and sift into a large
bowl. Bring to the scalding-point two cups of milk; stir into this a
generous teaspoonful of butter, and, when this melts, add two cups of
boiling water. Remove from the fire and set aside until blood-warm,
then stir in a gill of water of the same temperature, in which a half-
cake of compressed yeast has been thoroughly dissolved. Make a hollow
in the centre of the sifted flour and pour in the liquid. Stir to a soft
dough, then turn upon a floured board and knead for 15 minutes ; set in
a bread raiser in a warm place for six hours or until light. Make into
three loaves of uniform size, knead each of these for at least five min-
utes, put into a baking-pan, cover with a cloth, and set to rise until very
light. Bake in a steady oven.

Oatmeal Brown Bread. — Mix in a large bowl one pint of Quaker
oats, a rounding teaspoonful of salt, a pint of Pettijohn's breakfast
food, half a pint of whole wheat flour and half a pint of yellow gran-
ulated cornmeal. Put into another bowl one pint of thick sour milk and
half a pint of molasses. Dissolve a level teaspoonful of bicarbonate
of soda in two tablespoonfuls of warm water; add this to the molasses
and sour milk; stir until foaming; then add it to the dry ingredients
and mix until every grain is moistened. Turn into a greased mold and
boil or steam continuously for four hours. Stand in a moderate oven
for 30 minutes. It will then be ready to use. This may be toasted on
the second day, or warmed over in the oven, or it may be used cold.
Toasted it makes an acceptable breakfast bread.

Scotch Oat Bread. — To two cups of steel-cut oatmeal, one teaspoon-
ful soda and one teaspoonful salt, add two cups of boiling water; when
cool add one cup of molasses and one cake of yeast. Stand over night.
In the morning mix stiff with wheat flour. Shape into loaves, let rise
and bake.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 81

Salt-Rising Bread. — Dissolve a half teaspoonful of salt in two cups
of scalding water, and beat in gradual!}^ enough flour to make a very
soft dough. Beat for 10 minutes, cover and set in a very warm place
for eight hours. Now stir a teaspoonful of salt into a pint of lukewarm
m.ilk and add enough flour to make a stiff batter before working it into
the risen dough. Mix thoroughly, cover and set again in a warm place
to rise until very light. Turn into a wooden bowl and knead in enough
flour to make the batter of the consistency of ordinary bread dough.
Make into loaves and set these to rise, and when light, bake.

Sour Milk Corn Bread. — Mix together in a bowl three cupfuls of
corn meal and one cupful of graham flour. Stir in a teaspoonful of
salt, a tablcspoonful of melted butter, and two cupfuls of sour milk.
Now beat in three eggs, whipped light, and a small teaspoonful of soda
dissolved in a little boiling water. Beat for five minutes, then pour into
a greased mold with a funnel in the center. Bake for an hour, or until
a straw comes out clear from the thickest part of the loaf.

Spoon Corn Bread. — Put a quart of milk, or half milk and half water,
in a double boiler. Add four large kitchen spoonfuls of white cornmeal,
and stir and cook five minutes. Remove from the fire and let it cool,
stirring it once or twice as it cools. Then add two or three eggs beaten
with two tablespoonfuls of wheat flour, one tablespoonful of butter and
a scant teaspoonful of salt. Mix well, then pour into a greased baking
dish, and bake 35 minutes. Serve immediately in dish in which it is
baked, with a folded napkin wrapped around the dish.

Susan's Cornbread. — One cup white flour, one-half cup yellow corn-
meal, one-half teaspoonful salt, one tablespoonful sugar, two teaspoon-
fuls baking powder. Sift dry ingredients, then mix with one beaten
tgg and enough sweet milk to make a thin batter, stirring in at the
last a piece of butter the size of a walnut melted. Pour into a well-
greased shallow pan and bake in a quick oven.

Crackling Bread. — One quart of cornmeal^three pints make more
dough — a pint of buttermilk, a teaspoonful of soda, a big pinch of salt,
a pint of brown cracklings left from making lard, warm water. Crush
the cracklings with a rolling pin, heat them and stir in the dough,
which must be thick enough to mold well (thin with the warm water).
Mold the bread with the hands in small oblong pones about three inches
thick, putting the pones as you mold them in hot, well-greased pans.
Bake in a hot oven until brown.

Crumb-loaf. — Beat two eggs with a pinch of salt added; add a cupful
of sweet milk and a quarter of a cupful of sugar. Stir in enough
bread crumbs to make a medium thick batter, then add flour enough to
thicken like corn bread. Sift a teaspoonful of baking powder in with

82 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

the flour. Bake to a rich, crisp brown and serve hot. Fine for either
breakfast or supper.

Egg Bread. — Two eggs, one pint of buttermilk, three pints of corn-
meal, one-half pint of lard, one teaspoonful of soda, a pinch of salt, sweet
milk or sweet cream. Stir the soda in the buttermilk until it boils up,
mix the bread quickly, adding a sufficient quantity of sweet milk or
sweet cream to make a rather thin batter; beat in the eggs, and add
the lard, m.elted and hot, last. Pour quickly into frying hot greased
baking pans and bake quickly to a delicate brown. This bread will be a
golden yellow and as light as cake.

Swedish Breakfast Bread. — Add one-third cup butter, one-fourth cup
sugar, and one-half teaspoon salt to one cup scalded milk. When luke-
warm, add one-third yeast-cake dissolved in one-fourth cup lukewarm
milk, one ^gg„ well beaten, one-half cup raisins, stoned and cut in pieces,
and flour to make a stiff batter. Cover and let rise over night; in morn-
ing cut down and spread in buttered dripping-pan, one-half inch thick.
Cover and let rise again. Before baking brush over with beaten egg and
cover with the following mixture : Melt three tablespoons butter, add
one-third cup sugar, and one teaspoon cinnamon. When sugar is par-
tially melted, add three tablespoons flour. Bake in a moderate oven, and
cut in squares for serving.

Beaten Biscuits. — One quart of sifted flour, one tablespoonful of
lard, one-half pint cold water. Put the flour and salt in a bowl, rub the
lard in with the hands, add the water gradually. Work and knead until
smooth and elastic. Then put the dough on a block and pound it with
a mallet, rolling pin or ax for one hour until full of bubbles. The old-
fashioned rule was to "hit it 500 licks." Form into small round cakes,
stick with a fork here and there, and bake in a moderately quick oven
about 20 minutes. They should be brown on top, white on the sides,
and extremely white inside.

Bread-crumb Biscuits. — Take one quart each of bread crumbs and
sour milk, add one-half cupful of lard, one-half teaspoonful of salt, and
stiffen with flour in which is put before sifting one teaspoonful each of
saleratus and baking powder. Mold, and bake in a quick oven. Be
sure to allow the crumbs to soak for an hour in the milk before adding
the other ingredients.

Buttermilk Biscuits. — Two coffeecupfuls (even) of flour, half a cof-
feecupful of sour milk, half a coffeecupful of buttermilk, one teaspoonful
of sugar, one teaspoonful of yeast powder, half a teaspoonful of salt,
half a teaspoonful of soda. Mix sugar, yeast powder and salt with
flour and sift; dissolve soda in two tablespoonfuls of cold water, beat
into the sour milk until it stops "purring," mix quickly with dry ingre-
dients, using a spoon, turn on a well-floured board, pat with the hand

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 83

into a cake half an inch thick, roll, cut into biscuits; bake in a very
hot oven 10 minutes.

French Biscuits.— One cupful of butter, one cupful of sugar, the stif-
fly-beaten v^^hite of one ^gg, one-fourth cupful of thick sour milk, half
a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a very little hot water, flour enough
to make a dough that may be rolled out. Sprinkle with sugar, cut into
large circles, and bake for 20 minutes.

jNIartha Washington Biscuits. — Sift one pint of flour with one table-
spoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful each of baking powder and salt. Rub
into it one tablespoonful of lard. Mix with one well-beaten egg and one
cupful of water ; roll one-fourth of an inch in thickness and cut with
small round cutter. Fry in hot fat until cooked on one side, turn and
brown.

Molded Biscuits. — One quart of flour, into which two heaping tea-
spoonfuls of baking powder and one of salt have been sifted; rub into
it a scant half cupful of lard and butter, half and half; stir to a dough
with enough milk to make it just too thin to roll out. Grease muffin
rings and put on a greased baking pan ; drop from a spoon dough enough
nearly to fill each ring ; bake in a quick oven. Delicious tea cake, to be
eaten hot with butter, is made by adding a tablespoonful of sugar and one
well-beaten egg to this recipe and baking in one loaf, or in a large flat
cake to be split open and buttered, then cut in sections.

Potato Biscuits. — Pare and boil six white potatoes. While hot put
through a ricer, then add gradually one pint of scalded milk, one-half of
a cupful of butter, one teaspoonful each of salt and sugar and one-half
of a cupful of flour. Let stand until lukewarm, then add one yeast cake
dissolved in a little warm water and sifted flour to make a soft dough.
Knead lightly, using no more flour than is needed to keep from sticking
to the board. Cover and let stand again until very light, then form
into small rolls, handling most carefully and greasing the hands if the
dough is inclined to stick. Place in greased pans, let stand until fully
doubled in bulk, then bake about twenty minutes in a quick oven.

Sour Cream Biscuits. — Use three good tablespoonfuls of thick sour
cream; put this into a quart measure and fill it two-thirds full with
sweet milk; add half a teaspoonful of salt, two teaspoonfuls of cream
of tartar and a teaspoonful of soda. Stir into this enough flour to make
a dough that will roll very soft; cut into small biscuits, brush well with
melted butter, and bake about 20 minutes in a good oven.

Tea Biscuits. — For a six o'clock tea, set the batter about one o'clock.
Add to one quart sifted flour a teaspoonful sugar, a heaping teaspoonful
salt, and a tablespoonful each lard and butter ; rub in well ; dissolve one-
half yeast cake (compressed) in a little tepid water; add to a cupful
sweet milk; then mix well with the flour; cover and set out of a draught

84 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

to rise; when light turn out on the molding board, sprinkle with a very
little flour and roll out to the thickness of half an inch; cut out with
two sizes of round cutters, placing the smaller ones on top of the
larger, with a brushing of melted butter between ; let stand about an
hour to rise, then bake. The oven does not need to be as hot as for
baking powder biscuit.

Sugared Biscuits. — Ordinary biscuit dough is made, 'rolled out as for
cutting, and then lightly spread with butter and sugar, creamed together.
The dough is then rolled up like a jelly roll, and cut into slices like cin-
namon buns, each biscuit being sprinkled on top with a little more
butter and sugar.

Yarmouth Biscuit. — Mix three-quarters of a pound of sifted flour,
one-half pound of sugar and one-half pound of currants to a paste with
half a poimd of butter and three eggs. Roll out to one-eighth of an
inch in thickness and bake a light brown in quick oven.

Brioche. — This is one of the delicate breads that delight visitors in
France. One-half pound flour, one tgg, one teaspoon sugar, two ounces
butter, one- half teaspoon salt, one-quarter pint milk, one ounce yeast.
Sift the flour. Heat milk lukewarm and dissolve in it the butter and
yeast. Add the ^gg, well beaten, and the salt and sugar. Then stir
in the flour, gradually working it all the time with your hand. Beat
mixture well for 10 minutes, till the dough almost stops sticking to
your fingers. Cover with a cloth and set in a warm place to rise. When
four times its original size turn it on a floured board and take pieces
about the size of a turkey's egg and form into fancy shapes, twists,
knots, etc. Put in a buttered tin and let rise 15 minutes. When risen,
brush over lightly with the egg beaten up. Bake in quick oven 20 min-
utes.

Buckwheat Cake. — This is an old Canadian recipe and very good.
Make batter as for buckwheat pancakes, only a trifle thicker, and bake
in well-greased shallow pan, like corn bread. There should be a delicious
brown crust on the bottom. The prepared flour can be used.

Breakfast Buns. — Scald one-half pint of milk; pour it over two table-
spoonfuls of sugar; one quart of lukewarm water; when milk is luke-
warm add the yeast and enough flour to make a "sponge." Let rise until
it doubles its original bulk, about two hours; then cream together half
a cupful of butter and half a cupful of sugar; add two well-beaten
eggs and one cupful of scalded milk. Mix this into the sponge and
add sufficient flour to make a soft dough; knead lightly, cover and set
to rise until very light ; then mold into small buns and lay in greased
pans, allowing plenty of room to rise; then bake in a quick oven for 15
or 20 minutes. They must not be heavy and doughy.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. ' 85

Hot Cross Buns. — Beat a quarter cup of butter to a cream ; add four
tablespoonfuls of sugar and then add gradually a pint of milk that has
been scalded and cooled; add a yeast cake, dissolved, and sufficient flour
to make a batter. Beat thoroughly. Stand in a warm place for about
three hours. Then add four eggs well beaten and flour enough to make
a soft dough. Knead carefully. Stand aside until very light and form
into buns. Cut them in the center; brush them with sugar and white of
tgg and bake in a quick oven.

German Coff^ee Cake. — Take enough dough after it is mixed for one
loaf and add one Qgg, shortening half the size of an ^gg and one-half
cupful of sugar. Mix thoroughly through the dough and add flour
enough to roll out an inch thick ; let rise and wet the top of it with
cold water, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, and bake. To be cut
in slices and eaten with or without butter for breakfast with coffee and
put up for the children's school lunches in place of so much rich cake.
For variety roll the dough quite thin and sprinkle it with currants well
cleansed and dates or figs cut in small bits ; then roll up tightly and
with a sharp knife cut into slices one-half inch thick, lay in greased
pans, let rise and bake in moderate heat.

Fastnachts. — Mix to a light sponge the following ingredients : Three-
fourths quart of warm milk, one-half pound of sifted flour, four ounces
of melted butter, one ounce of yeast, one-half cupful of sugar, one egg,
one-half pound of warmed currants, the grated rind of a lemon, one
teaspoonful of cinnamon. Set in a warm place to rise, when light add
enough flour to mold into biscuits, place them on baking tins and let
rise once more, then rub over the top with a brush dipped in a well-
beaten tgg. Bake in a hot oven. Many prefer to serve them warm
with butter.

Bran Gems. — Beat two eggs very light, add half a teaspoonful of salt,
a tablespoonful of brown sugar and one and one-half cupfuls of milk,
then stir in a pint of finely ground bran. Fill oiled gem pans half full
and bake in a hot oven 20 minutes. These gems are advised in some
forms of indigestion, where fine flour is objectionable.

Corn Gems. — Sift together one pint of cornmeal, one pint of flour and
two teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Add one-third of a pint each of
milk and water. Mix into a firm batter and fill greased gem pans two-
thirds full.

Entire Wheat Gems. — Three cupfuls- entire wheat flour or wheat
meal, two cupfuls cold water, half cupful of milk. Heat gem pans very
hot on the top of the stove, fill them even full of the batter, place on the
grate of a very hot oven. Let them remain 10 minutes on the grate,
then bake 30 minutes on the bottom of the oven. They are nearly %s

86 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

good if 2^ cupfitls of water and no milk is used. Do not use any salt,
or they will not be so light.

Puff Gems. — Beat very light one egg, then add to it one-quarter cup-
ful sugar, two tablespoon fuls of melted butter, one cupfuF of sour milk.
Beat all well. Then add one cupful of cornmeal and one cupful of
white flour into which has been well mixed one heaping teaspoonful of
baking powder. Lastly dissolve one-quarter teaspoonful of soda in one
tablespoonful of boiling water, add, beat well and pour in gem pans, and
bake 20 minutes in a hot oven.

Golden Johnny Cake. — Heat to scalding point one pint of sweet milk;
while hot stir into it one teaspoonful butter, one teaspoonful white su-
gar and three-fourths of a cupful of steamed squash out of which all
water has been pressed. Sift together two cupfuls cornmeal, one cup-
ful flour, two heaping teaspoonfuls baking powder and a scant tea-
spoonful salt. Add to this, gradually, the milk and squash, as soon as It
IS lukewarm. Bake in one greased pan, or in gem pans if preferred. If
it seems stiff a little more milk may be added. Bake in a quick oven.
Meal varies so that it is hard to give the exact quantity.

Oatmeal Gems, — Separate two eggs ; beat the yolks for a moment ; add
a half pint of milk, then one and one-half cup of bread flour, and beat
thoroughly; add a tablespoonful of melted butter, a half-teaspoonful of
salt, one cup of left-over oatmeal porridge and one rounding teaspoonful
of baking powder. Beat for about two minutes. Fold in carefully the
well-beaten whites of the eggs. Pour this mixture into 12 greased gem
pans and bake in a moderately quick oven 20 minutes.

Popovers. — To make them without baking powder beat three eggs
until very light, then add two cupfuls of sweet milk and one-half tea-
spoonful of salt. Stir in four cupfuls of flour, and see that the batter
is very smooth; then add one additional cupful of milk and a piece
of butter the size of an egg, melted. Heat the pop-over irons or cups,
and when they are very hot nearly fill with the batter. Bake in a
quick oven for half an hour. To make pop-overs with baking powder re-
quires one G^gg, well beaten, one large spoonful of melted butter, two
tablespoonfuls of sugar, one cupful of sweet milk, 1^ cupful of flour,
salt, and one-fourth teaspoonful of baking powder.

Popovers Without Eggs. — One cup of milk, one cup of water, no salt
and no baking powder. The gem pans are heated, a piece of butter the
size of a walnut being put to melt in each little pan while the batter is
beaten up. The oven must be good, with steady heat, and the door
must not be opened for 25 minutes after the popovers are put in, or
they will fall. Salt will prevent them from rising, but if made accord-
ing to directions, they will be very light, f\9-\ix f-nou^h for drop batter.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 87

Breakfast Rolls. — Three cups of sweet milk, one cup of butter or
lard ; dissolve one yeast cake in a cup of warm water, mix with flour
enough to make dough. Let rise over night, in the morning add one
egg, knead thoroughly, let rise again, and when light make out in rolls.
Flace in pans, keep warm, and bake when very light.

Buttermilk Muffins. — A quart of fresh buttermilk, one teaspoonful of
soda, a pinch of salt and enough flour to make a stiflf batter and two
or three tablespoonfuls of sour cream. Dissolve the soda in a little
of the buttermilk, then add to the rest; add salt and cream and the
flour. Bake in gem pans in a hot oven.

Bread Sponge Muffins. — Late in the evenmg set a sponge as for
water bread, allowing a pint of warm water for a dozen muffins, a
third of a cake of compressed yeast and a pinch of "salt. Mix the bat-
ter a little thicker than for pancakes and beat thoroughly. In the
morning have gem pans greased, and in cold weather warm them; pour
in the batter without stirring, filling half full ; let them rise at least an
hour and bake in a hot oven.

Cape Cod Muffins. — Sift two cupfuls of flour with two teaspoonfuK
of baking powder, a half-teaspoonful of salt and one rounded teaspoonful
of sugar. Beat three eggs without separating; add to them i]^ cupful
of milk and stir the milk and eggs into the flour. Have ready a cupful
of carefully-cleaned blueberries and stir them lightly into the mixture.
Bake in hot buttered gem pans in a quick oven for 15 minutes.

Cream of Wheat Muffins. — Add to two cupfuls of cooked cream of
wheat, a cupful of milk and work it smooth, then two eggs well beaten
and a tablespoonful of sugar; to a pint of flour add two small tea-
spoonfuls of baking powder, and a half teaspoonful of salt, rub into the
flour a tablespoonful lard or butter; add to these ingredients the wheat
that has been mixed with the milk and eggs. Butter muffin pans, fill them
two-thirds full, and bake in a hot oven 20 minutes.

Crumb Muffins. — Scraps of stale bread, toasted in the oven until
crisp, find many uses. We run them through the food chopper until fine
enough for use. If these crumbs are sifted, the fine particles will be
found very nice for muffins and griddle cakes. For muffins, use one
egg, one tablespoonful of butter, one teaspoonful of sugar and half that
of baking powder, two cupfuls of the crumbs and one of flour; mix
with water or sweet milk and bake slowly in gem pans. For griddle
cakes use two cupfuls of crumbs to one of self-raising buckwheat flour.

English Muffins. — Dissolve half of a compressed yeast cake in six
tablespoonfuls of lukewarm water. Have a pint of milk scalding hot
and stir into it a heaping teaspoonful of lard. Boil until the lard is dis-
solved, then take from the fire and, when the milk is blood warm, stir it

88 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

gradually into a pint of flour that has been sifted with two saltspoonfuls
of salt. When the milk is all worked in, add the dissolved yeast cake,
and blend thoroughly. Turn the batter into a bread raiser and set to
rise in a moderately warm room for six or eight hours, or until light.
When light, turn the mass- out upon a floured pastry board and break
off bits of the dough, having them of uniform size, and each about as
large as an ordinary tea biscuit. Handle very lightl}^, and roll each
muffin in flour. Have, a soaps.tone griddle thoroughly heated and lay
these muffins upon it. Bake them without touching until they swell to
twice their original size. When brown on tbe under side lift carefully
and turn. When the other side is baked to a delicate brown, the muf-
fins are done. When ready to use, tear them open, toast and butter
generously.

Parker House Rolls. — Scald one pint of milk with a piece of butter
the size of an ^gg added. Put the milk into a bread pan with one table-
spoon of sugar and one teaspoon of salt. When the milk has cooled a
trifle, sift in sufficient flour to make a stiff batter. Now add one cake
of yeast and beat well, then add flour to make a soft loaf and knead
thoroughly. Let it stand over night. In the morning, little kneading is
required. Roll out this and cut with a biscuit-cutter. Brush over with
melted butter, lap one-half over the other, put in a pan not too close
together, and when very light, bake in a quick oven.

Quick Cinnamon Rolls. — Sift together two cups of flour, two teaspoon-
fuls of baking powder and a half teaspoonful of salt. Into this rub
one tablespoonful of butter. Mix with milk to make a soft dough. Roll
out to half an inch in thickness, spread with warmed butter and sprinkle
with two tablespoonfuls of brown sugar, one teaspoonful of cinnamon
and scatter over one-half cup of seeded raisins. Roll up as for jelly
cake and cut into inch slices ; place so as they will touch in a pan and
bake in a quick oven.

Scotch Scones. — Take two pounds of fine oatmeal, a tablespoonful
of salt, a tablespoonful of lard and enough water to make a stiff dough.
Rub the lard into the oatmeal and add the salt and water. In rolling
the palm of the hand should be used instead of a rollirig-pin. Press the
dough into a round cake about a quarter of an inch thick, cut into seg-
ments and cook on a griddle over a slow fire until a light brown. Oat-
meal scones properly prepared will keep for weeks.

Boston Tea Cakes. — Beat two eggs in a teacup, fill the cup with sweet
milk, turn into a bowl with one cupful of sugar, 10 even teaspoonfuls of
melted butter, 1^ cupful of flour and two teaspoonfuls of baking pow-
der. This is the most reliable, easily made and accommodating of cakes.
Delicious baked in layers and spread with jam or cream. May be baked
in a loaf or small patty pans. Serve warm with tea.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 89

English Tea Cake. — Sift four cupfuls of dried flour into a bowl and
chop into it a scant cupful of butter. Dissolve half a yeast cake in four
tablespoonfuls of warm water and stir it into two cupfuls of milk, or
enough to make a soft dough. Roll this out into a sheet and cut into
cakes as large as a tea plate and less than half an inch thick. Set them,
covered lightly, in a warm place until they have nearly trebled in thick-
ness. Bake in a floured pan. Keep them covered for 20 minutes, then
brown. Run a sharp knife around the edge, tear the cake open, butter
and serve upon a plate lined and covered with a heated napkin.

Zimmet-Kuchen. — Two cupfuls of bread sponge, one egg, half a cup-
ful of sugar, butter the size of a walnut, one cupful of warm water.
Mix these ingredients together and make a dough not quite as stiff as
for bread. Let it rise well, roll out one-half inch thick, let it rise again
until quite light. Spread the dough thinly and evenly in a long shallow
tin. Cover with an tg^ beaten with a tablespoonful of sugar and
sprinkle liberally with powdered cinnamon and granulated sugar. The
ingredients on the kuchen will melt and run together into a delicious can
died top. Serve by cutting into strips one inch wide.

Butter Cakes. — Sift two cupfuls of floor with three teaspoonfuls of
baking powder and a half teaspoonful of salt. Rub in two tablespoonfuls
of butter and add gradually three-fourths of a cupful of milk. Toss
upon a well-floured board and roll out as thick as though you were
making biscuit, then cut into rounds with a small biscuit cutter and bake
upon a hot, well-greased griddle. Cook slowly until they puff up double
their size, then turn and bake on the other side. Set them in a moderate
oven for a few minutes before serving, then break them open and serve
with butter and maple syrup.

Waffles. — For the batter use one pint of sifted flour, one level tea-
spoonful baking powder, one-half teaspoonful salt, one tablespoonful but-
ter, melted, two eggs and 1^ cupful milk; beat to a smooth batter. ^ Heat
the waffle iron very hot; grease both lids; put a cooking spoonful of
batter into each lid, and cook five minutes on each side. Slip out on to a
hot dish. Place in the oven until more are cooked, then put them one
on top of the other, each buttered and heaped with grated maple sugar.

CHAPTER VTII.

CAKES.

"Breathes there a man with soul so dead
He loves not new-baked ginger bread?
Who, stepping through the liitchen door,
On baking day sees goodly store
Of fragrant amber-shadowed cake,
And, half-unconscious, does not break
A ragged chunk ! Ah, toothsome bliss !
He is a churl who knows not this."

To get a fine grained cake, beat thoroughly after the flour is added.
Sweet milk makes cake that cuts like pound cake. Sour milk makes
spongy, light cake. Always sift flour before measuring, then it may be
sifted again with the baking powder to insure their being thoroughly
blended. In making fruit cakes add the fruit before putting in the flour,
as this will prevent it falling to the bottom of the cake. Flouring "the
fruit is unnecessary, unless the fruit is damp. If a cake cracks open
while baking, the recipe contains too much flour. In creaming butter
and sugar, when the butter is too hard to blend easily, warm the bowl
and if necessary warm the sugar, but never warm the butter, as this will
change both texture and flavor of the cake. The smaller the cake the
hotter should be the oven. Large rich cakes require very slow baking.
Grease cake pans with lard or drippings, as butter will be likely to make
the cake stick, owing to the salt in it.

When eggs are short in the Winter snow may be used as a substitute;
one of The R. N.-Y. housewives says that one cupful of snow, beaten in
after all the ingredients are put together, is equal to two eggs.

Almond Cookies. — Cream together one-half cupful of butter and two
cupfuls sugar. Stir in alternately a little at a time one cupful of sweet
milk and twice sifted flour to make a dough which can be handled. With
the last of the flour sift in two teaspoonfuls of baking powder; roll out
one-quarter inch thick; before cutting out sprinkle with a cup of almonds
which have been blanched and chopped and a teaspoon of granulated
sugar mixed through them. Bake in quick oven. These should be eaten
fresh, as should all cakes made without the addition of eggs.

Angel Cake. — Four ounces and a heaping tablespoonful of flour, 12
ounces of powdered sugar, the whites of 11 eggs beaten to a very stiff
froth (flavor with rose before beating), a teaspoonful of cream of tartar
and a little salt. Mix the sugar, flour, salt and cream of tartar together
and sift through a very fine sieve six times. Then stir in lightly the

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 91

beaten whites. Bake in a neiv pan, without greasing, for 40 minutes.
After taking from the oven, invert the pan and place upon cups or
tumblers until the cake is cold, then remove and cover with a thin icing.
No soda is used. A pan with a tin tube in the center is preferable for
baking.

Angel Cake No. 2. — Take the whites of nine large eggs. Add to
them a pinch of salt and whip them lightly until they are partly stiff,
then add half a teaspoonful of cream of tartar and whip them until very
stifif. Fold in carefully one and one-fourth cupful of granulated sugar
that has been sifted three times. Sift one cupful of the best pastry
flour seven times (if you want a perfect cake), and fold it into the
sugar and whipped eggs lightly. Last of all, add a teaspoonful of
vanilla. Turn the cake into a large, unbuttered pan. Bake in a moderate
even from 35 to 50 minutes. Never open the oven door until you think
the cake is done, as it falls very easily. On taking it from the oven
turn it upside down in such a way that current of air will pass under
it until it is cold. When cold loosen the cake from the sides of the pan
and lift it out. It should be so delicately baked that this will not be
difficult. If you intend to ice it cover it with a soft uncooked icing
made with powdered sugar, white of tgg and a very little vanilla.
Angel cake is generally better for being kept a day before serving. If it
is a little tough place it in a stone jar and cover with a plate. Let it
stand for two or three days in this way and it will become tender.

Apple Cake. — Measure two cupfuls of sifted flour, add two teaspoon-
fuls of baking powder and half a teaspoonful of salt and sift again into
a mixing bowl; make a well in the center; beat whites of two and yolk
of one egg until light, add grated rind of a lemon, one tablespoonful of
melted butter and a cupful of milk; mix this gradually into the flour
until you have a thick batter or very soft dough. Spread this on shallow,
well-buttered tins, having batter not more than half an inch thick. Pare
and cut into eighths enough large, tart apples to cover the top of the
cake by laying the pieces close together in rows, pressing the sharp edges
into the dough; brush well with softened but not melted butter, sprinkle
thickly with granulated sugar and bake in a hot oven. When done dust
with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

Dutch Apple Cake. — Measure a pint of sifted flour, add half a level
teaspoonful salt, quarter of a cupful of sugar and a scant teaspoonful
of soda. Sift three tim.es. Beat up one egg with a cupful of sour milk.
Rub a third of a cupful of butter into the flour thoroughly ; then mix
in the liquid, making a soft dough. Spread this half an inch thick in a
well-greased biscuit pan. Pare and core five juicy, nicely-flavored apples,
and cut them into eighths; arrange them in parallel rows, sharp edges
down, on top of the dough, pressing down so that they are partially

92 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

imbedded in the dough. Sprinkle over thickly with sugar and a little
cinnamon and spread with bits of butter. Bake in a quick oven for 25
minutes. Serve hot as a dessert or tea cake. Made with fresh, ripe
peaches cut in quarters, it is delicious. Omit the cinnamon when peaches
are used.

Apple Kuchen. — ^One pint of flour, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar,
one-half teaspoonful of soda, one-half teaspoonful salt, an tgg, a cupful
of milk, two tablesponfuls of butter, four large apples. Sift salt, soda
and cream of tartar with the flour and rub in the butter. Put the
beaten egg into the milk and mix with the flour. Spread the dough
one-half inch thick on a buttered pan. Cut the pared apples in eighths
and stick into the dough in rows. Sprinkle with sugar and bake 25
minutes.

Apple Layer Cake. — One cupful of sugar creamed with half a cupful
of butter; add the beaten yolks of four eggs, one-half cupful of milk,
two cupfuls of flour, with two level teaspoonfuls of baking powder sifted
through it. One teaspoonful of lemon or almond extract and the beaten
whites of the eggs. Bake in three layers. When cold spread with this
mixture : Peel and grate four large apples, beat into them one cupful of
sugar, two teaspoonfuls of melted butter and two whipped eggs. Pour
into a porcelain saucepan and stir steadily over a moderate fire until the
mixture has boiled one minute. Remove from the fire, add two tea-
spoonfuls of lemon juice, a dash of powdered cinnamon and two table-
spoonfuls of minced almonds. Cool it and build the cake, sprinkling
the top with powdered sugar. Cap the top generously with whipped
cream, flavored, and serve at the table.

Apple Sauce Cake. — One cup sugar, ^ cup shortening, one saltspoon
salt, J^ teaspoon ground cloves, one teaspoon cinnamon, i^ teaspoon
grated nutmeg, V/i cup raisins, more fruit if desired; one teaspoon soda
dissolved in a little water, one cup unsweetened apple sauce. Put the
dissolved soda into the sauce, let it foam over the ingredients ; 1^ cup
flour; bake 45 minutes.

Apricot Shortcake. — Drain the juice away from the fruit, and cut it
in small pieces. Set in a warm place and proceed to mix the cake. This
calls for one cupful of flouf, four teaspoonfuls of baking powder, two
teaspoonfuls of sugar, and half a teaspoonful of salt sifted together.
Into this work four tablespoonfuls of butter, add three-fourths of a.
cupful of milk, and stir into a light dough. Roll in a' floured bowl, and
when one-fourth of an inch thick cut into generous squares. Brush
the squares with melted butter, lay one on top of the other, and bake in
a hot oven. When done separate the pieces, sprejid the fruit between the
layers and on top, and pile whipped cream over all. A sweet sauce which
may be served with the shortcake is made by adding to a cupful of the

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 93

fruit juice one tablespoonful of cornstarch wet in a little water and
boiled for a few minutes. A tablespoonful of butter is melted into the
sauce and a tablespoonful of lemon juice is added just before serving.

Bath Cake. — One cup of sugar, one-half cup of butter, two-thirds of
a cup of sweet milk, whites of four eggs beaten to a stiff froth, two cups
of flour, one teaspoonful of baking powder and one-fourth teaspoonful
of baking soda. Flavor with vanilla. Bake in square, shallow tins (two
will be required). These cakes should be iced in the tins, while warm,
and glazed in a hot oven. Then score the icing (without cutting the
cake or allowing the icing to harden) into two-inch squares, placing in
the center of each square one-half of an English walnut. Set away
in tins in a cool place until thoroughly cold, when the squares may be
cut out. These little cakes look very pretty and are quite a delicacy.

Black Angel Cake. — One tgg, half a cupful of sweet milk, half a
cupful of sugar, one -third cake Baker's unsweetened chocolate. Cook
these ingredients till it thickens and let cool while making the cake part
as follows : One cupful of sugar, half cupful butter creamed, two eggs
beaten separctely, half cupful sweet milk, two cupfuls flour, half tea-
spoonful soda in the milk (do not use any cream of tartar), half
teaspoonful vanilla. ]\Iix the cake thoroughly, then add the chocolate
paste and beat well. Bake in two layers and put together with white
icing. This is a delicious cake.

Black Cake, Inexpensive. — Beat one cup of butter with one cup of
brown sugar until creamy; add two well-beaten eggs, one cup of cold
cofTee, three-fourths of a cup of molasses, one cup of seeded raisins,
one cup of currants, quarter of a pound of citron shredded and a tea-
spoonful each of ground cloves, allspice and cinnamon sifted with four
cups of browned flour and two teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Mix
the fruit in with the butter and sugar instead of flouring it to prevent
the fruit from sinking when brown flour is used in the cake. A little
flour may be required to make the batter stiff, as browning the flour
lessens the thickening property.

Blackberry Jam Cake. — One and one-quarter cupful of sugar; one-
half cupful butter; four eggs; four tablespoonfuls of loppered milk; one
small teaspoonful soda; two cupfuls flour; one teaspoonful of cinnamon;
one quarter cloves and nutmeg. Stir in one cupful of blackberry jam.
Bake in layers. Put together with a white frosting.

Blueberry Cakes. — INfeasure three cupfuls of sifted flour, add three
teaspoonfuls of baking powder, a heaping tablespoonful of sugar and a
teaspoonful of salt; sift well together. Beat one tgg until light; add
1^2 cupful of milk. Make a well in the center of the flour and gradually
pour in the liquid, stirring in the flour. In this way you can keep the
batter smooth. Make it to the consistency of cake batter. Melt two

94 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

level tablespoonfuls of butter and add to the batter; then two cupfuls of
floured blueberries. Bake in the little custard cups or muffin rings,
allowing a little longer time than for plain muffins. Blackberries are
nice used in this way.

Bohemian Butter Kuchen. — Dissolve one cake of dry yeast in a half
cup of warm milk; then add another cup of warm milk, one and one-half
cups of flour, one-half teaspoon of salt and beat to a smooth batter; let
rise till very light. Cream together half a cup of butter, half a cup of
sugar, two eggs and the grated rind of a lemon. Add this to the sponge
and enough flour to make a soft dough. Let rise again to double its
size; divide into three parts (handle as little as possible). Put each part
in a shallow buttered pan and let rise again to double its height. Pour
over each two tablespoonfuls melted butter, sprinkle with three table-
spoonfuls of sugar and a little cinnamon. Bake 25 minutes.

Brownie's Cake. — One cupful of brown sugar beaten to a cream with
half a cupful of butter; add the well-beaten yolks of four eggs an<l
half a cupful of strong cold coffee. Ground cloves, cinnamon, allspice
and nutmeg to taste ; 2>^ cupfuls of flour sifted with two teaspoonfuls of
baking powder, and last of all the whites of the eggs beaten to a stiff
froth and folded in. Bake in two layers and fill in and ice with dark
caramel icing, made as follows : Put four cupfuls of brown sugar in a
saucepan with a cupful of sweet cream or rich milk and boil until it will
thread from a spoon. Take from the fire and beat until nearly cold and
then put between the layers and over the cake.

Butter Cookies. — Cream together one cupful of butter and one-half
cupful of light brown sugar; then add one teaspoonful of vanilla and one
well-beaten tgg. Slowly stir in two cupfuls of flour. ]\Iold lightly with
the hand. Take out a small portion of the dough each time; roll as thin
as a silver dollar, cut the cookies with a cutter no larger than the dollar.
Bake in a moderate oven until a golden brown. This will make one
pound and a quarter of rich, crisp cookies.

Butternut Cake. — Beat half a cup of butter to a cream. Gradually
beat in ^ of a cup of granulated sugar, and then one cup of butternut
meats and one tgg beaten without separating. Sift together two cups of
entire wheat flour, one-third of a cup of pastry flour, one-half teaspoon-
ful soda, one-fourth teaspoonful salt, one-half teaspoonful mace, one-
fourth teaspoonful cloves, and ^ teaspoonful cinnamon. Add this to
the first mixture alternately with one cup of sour milk. Beat thoroughly
and turn into little tins fitted with rounds of paper on the bottoms and
thoroughly buttered. Bake about 25 minutes. The recipe makes 18
cakes. When cold, ice with the icing made 6i brown sugar, and deco-
rate with halves of butternut meats. The icing is made as follows:
Boil one cup of brown sugar and one-third cup of water to 240 de-

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 95

grees Fahrenheit. Then pour in a fine stream on to the white of one
egg, beaten very light. Continue the beating while the syrup is being
added to the egg and for some minutes afterward. Without a ther-
mometer, to decide the temperature, boil the sugar until it spins a thread
about three inches in length.

Chocolate Cake. — Two eggs, one-half cup butter, one-half cup cocoa,
one cup milk, one cup sugar, two teaspoonfuls baking powder ; two tea-
spoonfuls vanilla, a good cup and one-half of flour. If it is not the
proper consistency, then add a little more flour.

Chocolate Cream Cake. — Use any good cake recipe and bake in a
square pan. When cold cover with the following icing: To one and one-
half cupful of sugar add one-half cupful of sweet milk. Place on stove
and cook, after it begins to boil, for four minutes. Do not stir it. Pour
cut on a platter and beat until thick enough to spread on the cake.
While making this frosting have one and one-half square of chocolate
melting, and after covering the cake with the frosting spread the choco-
late smoothly over it.

Coffee Cake. — Cream one-quarter cup of butter with one cup of sugar,
add one tgg beaten, one-half cup milk, a pinch of salt and one and one-
half cupfuls of sifted flour with a teaspoonful of baking powder. Spread
in pan and sprinkle with seeded and cleaned raisins or currants, a little
shredded citron, dot with butter and sift over sugar and cinnamon. Bake
one-half hour and serve hot.

Coffee Chocolate Cake. — Cream one cup of sugar and half a cup of
butter; add the yolks of four eggs and half a cup of strong cold coffee.
Sift in V/i cup of flour with two teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Lastly
stir in 1^^ square of melted chocolate. Bake in a loaf and ice with whitf
frosting.

Coffee Fruit Cake. — This requires neither eggs nor milk. One-half
cup butter, one and one-half cups sugar, one and one-half cups cold
strong coffee, one-half cup molasses, one teaspoonful soda, one cup rai-
sins, one teaspoonful cinnamon, one teaspoonful cloves, one-half teaspoon-
ful nutmeg. Flour for thick batter, adding one level teaspoonful baking
powder. For frosting without eggs, use one cupful of granulated sugar,
five tablespoonfuls of milk; boil four or five minutes till it threads from
the spoon. Flavor as desired. Add chocolate or not. Stir till right
thickness for spreading. This is fine-grained, white (if chocolate is not
used) and delicious.

Cornstarch Cake. — Two cups of white sugar and one cup of butter
creamed together. One cup of sweet milk, the whites of five eggs beaten
very stiff, one cup of cornstarch, two cups of flour, two teaspoonfuls of
baking powder and two of extract of lemon. Bake slowly in a moderate
oven.

96 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Crullers, Chocolate. — Two eggs beaten until they are creamy and then
beaten into one cupful sugar, adding one tablespoonful melted butter, one
half teaspoonful each of salt and cinnamon, one square grated chocolate.
Mix well and then add one cupful 'sweet milk, three cupfuls of flour
sifted with two teaspoonfuls baking powder. Roll out one-fourth inch
thick, cut, cook to a golden- brown in smoking hot fat. Roll in powdered
sugar when cool.

Crullers, Olive Oil. — To one-half cup of sugar add two tablespoons of
oil, two beaten eggs, one-half teaspoon of salt, one-fourth teaspoon of
cinnamon and a little nutmeg; add two cups of flour sifted with two
teaspoons of baking powder, alternately with one-fourth cup of milk.
Roll out, cut and fry as usual. In frying them let the oil get just hot
enough to smoke.

Date Cake. — Two cupfuls sugar, one cupful shortening, creamed to-
gether, three eggs, well beaten into sugar and shortening, three teaspoon-
fuls baking powder, 3yi cupfuls flour. To this add one cupful of stoned
and finely-chopped dates, floured. Bake in five layers and put together
Vv'ith plain or boiled icin*

Dolly Varden Cake. — Cream one-half cup butter with one cup sugar.
Add one-half cup milk alternately with one and one-half cup of flour
in which has been mixed one teaspoonful baking powder. Lastly fold
in the dry-beaten whites of three eggs and flavor to taste. Bake in loaf
for one-half hour in a moderately quick oven. For icing make a syrup
of one and one-half cup sugar and eight tablespoonfuls water. Boil,
when this strings from spoon, add the well-beaten yolks of three eggs
and continue beating for one-half hour. Flavor like cake and pour
thickly over the cake.

Doughnuts, Best.— One tgg beaten light; one cupful of sugar and a
little salt; one cupful of sour milk sweetened with one teaspoonful of
soda; two tablespoonfuls of melted lard; flour to make a stiff dough.
Fry in hot lard, and dust with cinnamon and granulated sugar. These
doughnuts are light and wholesome.

Doughnuts, Potato. — Two cups of mashed potatoes (hot), four ta-
blespoonfuls of shortening, three cupfuls of sugar, four eggs, five tea-
spoonfuls of baking powder, three cupfuls milk, salt, nutmeg, and lastly
flour enough to stiffen. Make a cream of potatoes, shortening, sugar and
eggs, then add milk, salt and nutmeg, flour sifted with baking powder,
and cook in boiling lard.

Dried Apple Cake. — Soak the dried apples over night and in the morn-
ing chop fine, having two cupfuls; then simmer in two cupfuls of molasses
until apples are soft. Cream two cupfuls of sugar with a scant cupful
of butter; add three well beaten eggs; then the apples and molasses;
half a pound of raisins seeded, three cupfuls of flour, sifted with two

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 97

tcaspoonfuls baking powder and half a teaspoonfiil each of cinnamon,
cloves and grated nutmeg. Bake in very moderate oven as you would
fruit cake.

Dutch Cake. — Take two pounds of raised bread dough, one pint of
sugar, half a cupful of butter (or more if it is to be made quite rich),
half a nutmeg grated, one teaspoonful of cinnamon and a pound of large
laisins. ]Mix well and put in a greased pan. Let it rise about three-
quarters of an hour, or until the loaf is nearly double its original size,
and bake in a moderate oven. This is very good when fresh ; if we wish
to make it richer we use an tgg, which is mixed in with the butter. Us-
ing currants instead of raisins, we have the English currant loaf. The
same recipe makes very nice buns.

Election Cake. — Rub into half a pound of sifted flour five ounces of
butter, add a saltspoonful of salt, one cupful of sugar; mix. Scald two
cupfuls of miilk, and when lukewarm add one yeast cake dissolved, and
two eggs well beaten. Make a hole in the center of the flour, pour in
the milk mixture, stir in a little of the flour; cover and stand aside for
three hours. Then beat in all the flour, add the juice of three oranges,
a tablespoonful of cinnamon and half a nutmeg grated; turn into a
greased round pan and, when very light, bake in a moderate oven for
one hour.

Eggless Cake. — Beat one cupful of sugar and half a cupful of butter
to a cream; add a cupful of miilk, measure two cupfuls of sifted flour,
add three tcaspoonfuls of baking powder, a level teaspoonful of cinna-
mon, half a teaspoonful of grated nutmeg and a pinch of cloves. Sift
several times until the flour is light and fluffy, then stir into the other
materials, add cupful seeded floured raisins. Bake in moderate oven.

Eggless Cake with Oil- — Cream one-half cup oil and one cupful sugar,
one cupful sour milk, one teaspoonful soda, one teaspoonful each of cas-
sia and cloves, one-half cupful chopped raisins (if desired) one-half
teaspoonful salt, two cupfuls warmed flour. Be sure not to forget the
salt, as the oil contains none. This must always be remembered ; in using
the oil add twice as much salt as common.

Eggless Fruit Cake. — One cup of sugar, one cup of butter, one cup of
buttermilk, two cups of sifted flour, one cup of raisins (seeded and
chopped), one teaspoonful of cinnamon, one-half teaspoonful of cloves,
cne-half teaspoonful of nutmeg. Beat the sugar and butter to a cream;
dissolve the soda in a little hot water and stir it into the milk, and add
next the spices. Flour the raisins and add them last. Bake in a well-but-
tered tin, on the bottom of v/hich place a clean white paper, also well
buttered.

Layer Cake Without Eggs. — One cupful of sugar, quarter of a cupful
of butter, one cupful of sweet milk, one teaspoonful of soda, two of

98 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

cream of tartar, one tablespoonful of cornstarch made smooth in a little
milk, two cupfuls of flour. Bake in thin sheets and put together with
boiled sugar frosting, jelly, cocoanut or any other rich filling desired,
finish the top with the boiled sugar frosting made by boiling together a
cupful of sugar and one of water until it will turn creamy white and
thick on being stirred. This is quite as delicious as the frosting made
from the whites of eggs.

Noel Fruit Cake. — This contains neither butter nor eggs. One pound
fat salt pork chopped fine, one cupful brown sugar, one cupful New Or-
leans molasses in which is dissolved one teaspoonful of soda, one pound
each of raisins, currants and figs chopped fine, one-fourth pound of
citron chopped fine, one wineglass of coffee (substituted for brandy),
2^ cupfuls of flour well browned. This will make one large loaf or two
small ones. The longer kept the better it is. This may be iced or not.
A boiled milk frosting is good while eggs are high.

Eggless Waffles. — Mix at night a batter with sour milk if you have
it; if not, sweet will answer. To each quart of milk, with flour for bat-
ter, add one tablespoonful each of butter and sugar, one-half teaspoonful
salt. If sweet milk is used add small quantity yeast or one-quarter com-
pressed yeast cake. In the morning add enough baking soda to correct
acidity — you will have to try baking a little to get it right.

Russian Fried Cakes. — Scald one pint of milk, add one scant tea-
spoonful of salt and one tablespoonful of sugar; when lukewarm add
one yeast cake dissolved in a little warm water, and sufficient flour to
make a drop batter, and set aside to rise. When light and spongy add
one-half cupful of butter, creamed together with one cupful of sugar
and three eggs; beat until thoroughly mixed; add sufficient flour to
make a soft dough and knead for five minutes. Return to the bowl ;
cover and keep in a warm place until light. Turn out on a floured board ;
roll out quite thin and cut into three-inch circles. On one-half of these
cakes place a small spoonful of any firm jam or marmalade. Cover with
the remaining cakes and pinch each together securely. Cover with a
floured cloth, and let stand for 20 minutes; then drop a few at a time
into smoking hot fat. When well browned and puffed up draw on un-
glazed paper and roll in powdered sugar.

Fruit Cake. — Three pounds flour, one pound butter, 5^ pound lard,
two pounds stoned raisins, two pounds currants, one pound mixed can-
died peel, sliced, two teaspoonfuls each of ground allspice, cinnamon,
cloves, nutmeg and ginger; two pounds brown sugar; a little salt; one
cup milk; eight eggs; two teaspoonfuls baking powder. If all baked
in one loaf bake for four hours.

Graham Fruit Cake.— Sift three cups of sifted graham flour, two cups
of white flour, one teaspoon each of clove, allspice, soda and salt and

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 99

two teaspoons of cinnamon. To two cups of sugar add one cup of mo-
lasses and two cups of milk alternately with the sifted flour mixture.
Beat thoroughly and add three cups each of seeded raisins and citron,
both slightly floured. Bake in a moderate oven for one hour.

Maple Sugar Fruit Cake.— Cream one cupful of butter and add to it
two cupfuls of maple sugar, one of maple syrup, three beaten eggs, one
small cupful of milk with a rounding teaspoonful of soda dissolved in it,
five cupfuls of flour sifted with two teaspoonfuls of cream tartar and a
little salt. Mix all together and add one pound of raisins, one of cur-
rants, half a pound of citron and a quarter of a pound of orange peel,
all well floured. No spices are used, as the maple sugar flavors the
cake.

Old-Fashioned Fruit Cake. — This is intended for rolling out and bak-
ing in flat pans, instead of the usual loaf. Take two and a half cupfuls
of sugar, creamed up with half a cupful of butter, half a cupful of sour
milk, a teaspoonful of soda, half a teaspoonful each of cinnamon, nut-
meg and ground cloves, a cupful of raisins and one of currants, with a
little chopped citron and enough flour to make quite stiff. Knead all
together, roll about two inches thick and bake in a moderate oven.
Spread the layers with boiled sugar frosting and cut into squares before
the frosting hardens.

Poor Man's Fruit Cake. — Seed and chop a quarter of a pound of
dates; mix with them one cupful of seeded raisins, and dust them with
one-half cupful of flour. Dissolve a level teaspoonful of baking soda in
two tablespoonfuls of warm v/ater; add to it half a pint of very thick
sour cream, stir a moment and add one cupful of brown sugar, half a
tumblerful of currant or blackberry jelly, a tablespoonful of cinnamon, a
teaspoonful of allspice and two cupfuls and a half of flour. Beat thor-
oughly, add the fruit, mix well and turn into a greased square pan. Bake
in a very slow oven for one hour and a half. This cake will be quite
equal to plain fruit cake if the cream is very thick, and it is allowed to
stand a week before cutting.

German Cookies. — To one cup of sugar, one cup of butter, one cup
of lard, one cup of molasses, the juice and grated rind of one lemon,
one tablespoonful of vinegar, one teaspoonful each of cinnamon and
ginger, one and one-half teaspoonful of soda, add one Qgg, one cup of
nuts, one tablespoonful each of candied citron and orange peel chopped
fine and flour enough to make stiff. The dough must be stiff or the
cookies will not retain the shape in baking.

Colonial Gingerbread. — Put a cupful of New Orleans molasses in a
mixing bowl with half a cupful of butter" and half a cupful of sugar.
Over this pour a cupful of boiling water in which a level dessertspoonful
of soda has already been dissolved. Stir well, and let the mixture

100 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

cool; then add a cupful of chopped walnuts and a cupful of seeded rai-
sins, a teaspoonful each of cinnamon and ginger, two and one-half cup-
fuls of flour, and, lastly, two well-beaten eggs. Bake in a shallow pan
and serve while still warm from the oven.

Honey Gingerbread. — Wanu a generous half cup of butter and beat
into it two cups of strained honey. When you have a light cream beat
in one tablespoon of powdered sugar, a tablespoon of ginger and one-
half teaspoon of cinnamon. Add the beaten yolks of four eggs, and al-
ternately with the frothed whites, three even cups of flour sifted twice
with one teaspoon of baking powder. Beat hard for one minute and
bake in buttered shallow pans for 45 minutes. Keep covered for 30
minutes.

Shiny Gingerbread. — This is very crackly and shiny on top. The
secret of making it thus is to pour the shortening boiling hot on the,
molasses and beat the batter as little as possible. Pour a small half-
teacupful of boiling hot shortening, lard and butter, or beef suet and
butter mixed, upon one-half pint of New Orleans molasses ;• add two
lablespoonfuls of milk, a tablespoonful of ground ginger, a teaspoonful
of cinnamon; then sift in about three-quarters of a pint of flour, to
which a teaspoonful of baking soda has been added; lastly add a well-
beaten egg, then mix with a few deft turns of the spoon and bake in one
large pan or two small ones in a moderate oven; serve hot, and break,
not cut, at the table.

Ginger Snaps. — Beat together one cupful of sugar, one egg, and one
tablespoonful of ginger. Heat one cupful of molasses to the scalding
point, stir into it one teaspoonful of soda or saleratus, and, while it
foams, pour it over the butter and egg, and beat together. Add a table-
spoonful of vinegar, and stir in lightly enough flour to roll out and cut
the dough.

Half-Pound Cake. — ^One pound of sugar, one pound of flour, one-half
pound of butter, one teacupful of milk, four eggs. Flavor to taste. Whip
up the sugar and eggs, putting in one egg at a time. Then stir in the
milk and flavoring, following this with the flour, which must be very
thoroughly beaten into the batter. Pour into paper-lined tins and bake
in a steady oven for 45 minutes. This quantity should make two loaves.
The oven must be well regulated, and care taken to avoid any jar, or
the cake will be apt to fall in the middle.

Hardenburg Cake. — This is an old-fashioned Dutch fruit cake.
Cream together a pound and a half of butter and two pounds of gran-
ulated sugar. Add one-half pint of New Orleans molasses, the beaten
yolks of 12 eggs, two ounces of mixed spices — mace, cinnamon and
cloves, two grated nutmegs, one-half pound candied peel — two pounds
cleansed and dried currants, four pounds stoned and cut raisins, one-

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 101

half pint pickled fruit syrup or boiled-down cider, and flour to make the
ingredients hang together. If not self-raising flour, add a dessertspoonful
of baking powder. About a pound and' a quarter of flour will be re-
quired. Lastly, fold in the stiffly beaten whites of the eggs. Bake three,
or four hours in a moderate even, taking care not to disturb.

Honey Apple Cake.— Wash two cupfuls of dried apples (old-fash-
ioned kind are the best) and soak them over night. Next morning drain
them and mince as fine as posL-ible and simmer for two hours in a pint
of honey. Pour into a bowl and add while hot half a cupful of butter,
stir until butter is melted and mixed, then let cool. Add a cupful of
sifted sugar and half a cupful of milk, a teaspoonful each of cloves and
cinnamon, the grated rind of half a lem.on, two eggs well beaten and
two cupfuls of flour in which you have mixed two teaspoonfuls of baking
powder. Line long, shallow tins with buttered paper and pour in the
batter to depth of half an inch. When baked cut into strips size of
lady fingers and dust the surface with powdered sugar.

Hot Cross Buns. — Sift into a large bowl one full quart of flour, half
a cupful of sugar, and half a teaspoonful of salt; dissolve one-fourth
of a cupful of butter in a generous half-pint of warm milk, and add to
the dry ingredients, Avith the yolks of two beaten eggs; add half a
yeast cake dissolved in a little water, half a nutmeg grated, and the
whites of the two eggs, beaten stiff; this should make a very soft dough.
Cover the bowl with a clean cloth, place it where it will keep warm,
and let it rise over night. In the morning take pieces of the dough the
size of an egg and, with a little flour, mold them into round cakes an
inch in thickness. Place them on a buttered tin, leaving a little space
between. Cover the tins and set in a warm place for the buns to rise;
they should be double their original size. With a sharp knife cut a
cross in the center of each bun. Bake them in a moderate oven for
about half an hour. When the buns are baked, brush the top with a
syrup made of sugar and water. A few currants or a little candied
peel is usually added to this recipe.

Icing, Plain. — Dissolve one cupful of granulated sugar in one-quarter
of a cupful of hot water; flavor with essence of vanilla or some orange
juice and cook until it threads. Then pour it slowly over the whipped
white of an tgg, beating the mixture all the time until cool.

Imperial Cake. — One pound of sugar, one pound of flour, three-quar-
ters pound of butter, one pound of almonds, blanched and cut fine; one-
half pound of citron, one-quarter pound candied cherries, one-half pound
of seeded raisins, rind and juice of one lemon, two pieces of candied
orange, one nutmeg, 10 eggs. Bake in a loaf in a moderate oven. This
is a rich and delicious cake, that can be made some time before it is used.

Grandmother's Jumbles. — Work three-quarters of a pound of butter

102 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

into a pound and a half of flour and half a pound of sugar. Flavor with
grated nutmeg, cinnamon or lemon extract, and add three well beaten
eggs. Work all well together into a smooth paste and roll out an eighth
of an inch in thickness. Sprinkle crushed loaf sugar over it and cut into
round cakes with a very small cutter ; take out the center. Lay on bak-
ing sheets and bake in a quick oven, without browning, about 10 minutes.

Jumbles Without Eggs. — A half cupful each of butter and slightly
soured milk, one cupful of sugar, a half teaspoonful of soda, saltspoonful
of salt, the same of nutmeg and cinnamon mixed, the grated yellow rind
of half a lemon, and a teaspoonful of lemon juice, two cupfuls of flour
to stifl^en. Bake in rings in a hot oven. A cupful of clean, light, new-
fallen snow stirred into cake, or other batters, briskly, the very last thing
before turning it into the baking pan, is a good substitute for eggs. When
snow is used a little more flour is required — about two tablespoonfuls.

Lady Baltimore Cake. — One cupful of butter, two cupfuls of sugar,
three and one-half cupfuls of flour, one cupful sweet milk, the whites
of six eggs, two level teaspoonfuls of baking powder and a teaspoonful
of rose \A^ater. ]\Iix as directed for white cakes and bake in three layers,
with this filling: Dissolve three cupfuls of granulated sugar in one cup-
ful of boiling water, cook until it threads, then pour gradually over the
stiffly-beaten whites of three eggs, stirring constantly. Add to this icing
one cupful of chopped raisins, one cupful of chopped nut meats (pecans
preferred), and five figs cut in very thin strips. Ice and emboss top and
sides of cake.

Lady Fingers. — Beat the whites of three eggs until very stiff, then beat
in gradually one-third of a cup of sugar and just a bit of salt. Beat the
yolks of three eggs until light and thick and add to the whites, putting
in at the same time a little vanilla extract. Fold in one-third of a cup
of flour. Shape on a buttered tin to resemble those sold in the shops;
that is, make them very thin and about four and one-half inches long by
one inch wide. Dust with confectioner's sugar and bake in a moderate
oven. About eight minutes will be required for the baking.

Lebkuchen. — Take a cupful of butter and one of sugar, pour over them
two cupfuls of honey heated to the boiling point. Add a generous handful
of blanched almonds, a grated nutmeg and a teaspoonful of cinnamon.
Dissolve a scant teaspoonful of soda in water and add to the ingre-
dients. Mix with flour until the dough is as stiff as for ginger cookies.
Roll out like cookies. Cut into oblong cakes and bake until well
browned.

Lemon Sponge Cake. — Three eggs, one-half cupful granulated sugar,
one-half cupful of sifted flour, the juice and grated rind of one lemon,
one-half teaspoonful of baking powder. Beat the whites of eggs very
stiff, beat the yolks and add. When well mixed add the sugar slowly

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 103

and beat; grate the outside of rind of lemon and add the juice, then
beat all with tgg beater three minutes. Sift in the flour in which the
baking powder has been mixed and stir slowly and carefully, but do not
beat after flour is in. Bake in a moderate oven 35 minutes.

Maple Layer Cake.— Make a tender layer cake by any good recipe, and
bake in three large layers. For a filling take two cupfuls of maple su-
gar, add one cup of water and boil until it will wax when dropped in
cold water. Then remove from the fire and add two teaspoonfuls of but-
ter and stir speedily till it v.-ill spread on the cake. Add one-half tea-
spoonful of vanilla and put between the layers.

Molasses Cookies. — Take one cupful of sugar and one cupful of but-
ter or good shortening. Cream them and add two cups of molasses and
two eggs. Dissolve two good-sized teaspoonfuls of soda in a little hot
v/ater, and fillup the cup it is in with cold water. Add it to the other
mixture and stir in enough flour to make a soft dough, but one that can
be rolled out and cut into cookies. Spice to suit the taste.

Delicious Nut Cake.— Cream half a cupful of sugar, adding the stiffly
beaten whites of three eggs and beating very light; then add, by alter-
nate bits, two-thirds of a cupful of milk and one and a half cupfuls of
flour mixed with two level teaspoonfuls of baking powder. At the last
turn in a cupful of minced English walnut meat and bake in a shallow
tin. When the cake is cool cover with icing, mark in squares and put
nut meat on the top of each.

Nut Wafers. — Two eggs, one cup of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of
flour, one cup of nut meats chopped fine. Hickorynuts are preferred,
and the sugar should be light brown. Spread the mixture in a very thin
layer on a well-greased tin and bake ten minutes or until well tinged
with brown. Cut in squares and remove from the tin as soon as they are
done, that the wafers may grow crispy in the air.

Oatmeal Cookies. — Cream three-fourths of a cupful of butter with one
cupful of sugar; add two well-beaten eggs. Sift three-fourths of a tea-
spoonful of soda into two cupfuls of flour; add one-half a teaspoonful
of salt, one teaspoonful of cinnamon; now add to the mixture two cup-
fuls of uncooked rolled oats and one scant cupful of chopped raisins
sprinkled with a little flour. Drop by the teaspoonful into a greased
pan ;, bake in moderate oven.

Oatmeal Crisps. — One tabler.poonful of butter, creamed, one cup of
sugar, added gradually; two and one-half cups rolled oats; two teaspoons
baking powder well mixed with the oats ; two eggs, well beaten, one-
half teaspoon of salt and two teaspoons vanilla in the eggs. Mix in the
order given ; bake in a medium to slow oven. A heaping teaspoonful of
mixture makes a dainty crisp. Allow room for them to spread in the
pan. If you cannot get on without flour use a little best bread flour —
not pastry.

104 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Oatmeal Macaroons. — Cream two level tablespoonfuls of butter, scant
measure; add gradually half a cup of sugar, then the beaten yolks of
two large eggs beaten again with half a cup of sugar. Then stir in 2^
cupfuls of rolled oats, mixed with 2>^ level teaspoonfuls of baking
powder and one-fourth teaspoonful of salt. Flavor with one teaspoonful
of vanilla, then fold in the whites of two eggs, beaten dry. Drop with a
teaspoon on to a buttered baking-sheet, making little rounds about three
inches apart, and bake in a slow oven.

Orange Cake. — Sift together four times IJ.^ cupful of flour and 1>^
teaspoonful of baking powder. Beat well two eggs, add one cupful of
sugar, one-half cupful of milk, one tablespoonful of melted butter and
the same quantity of orange juice; then the sifted flour and baking pow-
der. Bake in a square, shallow tin. When cooked split open and fill
with a cream made as follows: Into a cup squeeze the juice of one
orange, add a tablespoonful of lemon juice and hot water to fill the cup,
put this on to cook in a double boiler, thicken with one tablespoonful of
cornstarch wet with cold water, and add the grated rind of half an
orange, one teaspoonful of butter, two heaping tablespoonfuls of sugar
and the yolk of an tg^.

Othello Cake, or Devil's Food. — Part first — One cupful of dark brown
sugar; one-half cupful of butter; one Qgg and yolks of two; one-half
cupful sweet milk; one teaspoonful soda, two cupfuls flour, measured
before sifting; two teaspoonfuls vanilla extract. Part second — One cup-
ful dark brown sugar, one cupful grated chocolate, one-half cupful sweet
milk. Grate the chocolate, add milk and sugar, put in a double boiler,
and place on the back of stove until dissolved; but do not boil. Prepare
this first and have dissolving while preparing part first. To mix part
first, cream the butter, sugar and eggs, together, dissolve the soda in milk,
and add to butter and sugar. Add the flour tablespoonful at a time
until all is in, beating lightly. Beat part second into part first and bake
in two layers.

Panoche Cake. — Make any good white cake, and bake in two layers.
Make a filling as follows : Boil together two cupfuls of brown sugar and
one-half cupful milk until they harden in cold water. Then add a tea-
spoonful of vanilla and a tablespoonful of butter. Stir while cooking.
To half of this mixture add one-half cupful of English walnut meats; as
soon as cool enough spread between the layers. Spread the remainder
of the mixture on top of the cske, and decorate with half walnut meats.

Peanut Cookies. — One-half cupful of butter, one cupful granulated
sugar, one-half cupful milk, one Qgg, one pint flour, two teaspoonfuls
baking powder, one heaping cupful chopped peanuts. Cream the butter
and sugar, add the milk and egg — beating white and yolk separately —
ihen the baking powder mixed with part of the flour, and lastly the re-

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 105

mainder of the flour, in which has been mixed the nuts. Handle very
I'ttle and do not roll too thin.

Pork Cake. — One pound of fat salt pork, chopped fine, and dissolved
i-i one pint of boiling water, three cups of brown sugar, one cup mo-
lasses, one pound each of raisins and currants, two tablespoonfuls of
cinnamon, one teaspooriful cloves, two nutmegs grated, grated zest of one
orange and lemon, one teaspoonful baking soda, two teaspoonfuls of
cream of tartar, seven cups of sifted flour. Bake in moderate oven.
This amount makes three medium-sized loaf cakes.

Potato Cake. — Two cups sugar, one-half cup butter, one cup hot
mashed potato, four eggs beaten, one-half cup milk, one-fourth tea-
spoon nutmeg, one-fourth teaspoon cloves, one-half teaspoon cinnamon,
one cup walnut meats chopped fine, two rounding cups flour, two tea-
spoons baking powder, two ounces chocolate melted over hot water and
mixed with potato; add to sugar and butter and mix as usual. Bake in
three layers and put together with frosting.

Pound Cake. — Mix a pound of sugar with three-quarters of a pound
of butter. When worked white, stir in the yolks of eight eggs beaten to
a froth, then the whites. Add a pound of sifted flour and mace or nutmeg
to taste. If you wish to have your cake particularly nice, stir in, just
before you put it into the pans, a quarter of a pound of citron or al-
monds blanched, and powdered fine in rosewater.

Raised Cake. — Two cupfuls light sponge, one cupful sugar, one-half
cupful butter, two well-beaten eggs, one cupful stoned raisins, floured,
half a nutmeg, grated, one-half teaspoonful soda dissolved in a little
water. Make into a loaf or loaves, and when light bake in rather slow
oven, as it scorches easily. If desired, cover it with a milk icing, for
which use 10 teaspoonfuls sweet milk, 1^ cupful sugar. Boil six min-
utes, take from stove and stir until quite white, flavor, spread quickly
with a knife dipped in cold water.

Raisin-Cake Squares. — Sift and dry half a pound of flour, rub into this
two ounces of butter and a very little lard, add three ounces of sugar, a
teaspoonful of baking powder and six ounces of stoned raisins. Beat
two eggs with a spoonful of milk, and add to the dry ingredients; add
a pinch of ground cinnamon and beat all to a light batter; pour into
a greased pudding tin and bake in a sharp oven; when cooled a little
cut with a hot knife into squares and serve while still warm.

Rochester Cake.— Two cups sugar; two-thirds butter; one cup sweet
milk; three eggs; three cups flour; two teaspoonfuls baking powder; a
little salt and flavoring. Put half the mixture in two jelly cake pans. To
the remainder add one tablespoon molasses ; one cup chopped raisins or
currants; one-fourth pound chopped citron; one teaspoon cinnamon; one-
half teaspoon cloves; one-half teaspoon allspice; a little nutmeg; one

106 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

tablespoon flour. Put in two other jelly cake pans. Put the cakes to-
gether while warm with a little jelly or raspberry jam between them,
dark and light layers alternately.

Rose Layer Cake. — Two cups of sugar, one cup of butter, a fourth
of a cup of sweet milk, whites of eight eggs beaten stiff, three and a
fourth cups of flour and two teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Bake in
jelly tins. Grease the tins well and dust flour over every part before
putting in the batter. Boil two cups of powdered sugar in a half tea-
cupful of water, stirring constantly. When very thick pour boiling-hot
over the beaten whites of two eggs. Beat until almost cold. Flavor
with rose extract and color with cochineal. Put the cakes together with
this icing. For the pink coloring matter, buy Hve cents' worth of baker's
cochineal of the druggist, put half a teaspoonful into a cup and cover
with two teaspoonfuls of boiling water. Let stand an hour, add alum
(powdered) the size of a large pea, and add drop by drop to the icing
until of a pretty pink color.

Sour Cream Cake. — One cup sugar, one cup sour cream, three-fourths
cup raisins, one level teaspoonful salt, two eggs, two cups flour, one tea-
spoonful each of saleratus and cinnamon, a saltspoonful ground cloves
Beat well, bake in loaf or two layers, and use any white frosting for
covering the cake. For the sour cream icing, use one cup sour cream,
one and one-half cup sugar (granulated), three-fourths cup ground
walnuts and hickory nuts. Boil in granite pan to soft ball stage, then stir
briskly until nearly cold. If this should prove too stiff, add a table-
spoonful sweet milk.

Salem Spice Cake. — Cream a half cupful of butter with a cupful of
sugar, add two eggs — one at a time — and beat until the mixture is very
light. Sift lYz cupful of flour with one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt,
one teaspoonful of cinnamon and half a teaspoonful of cloves. Add the
flour, a tablespoonful at a time, alternately with a half cupful of cold
water, and add to the last tablespoonful of flour a teaspoonful of baking
powder. Stir in a half cupful of cleaned and seeded raisins and bake in
a shallow, well-greased pan in a moderate oven for 25 minutes.

Spiced Molasses Wafers. — This is one of the daintiest gingerbreads.
One cupful of brown sugar, one-half of a cupful of molasses, one table-
spoonful of butter, one-half of a teaspoonful of powdered cinnamon, one-
quarter of a teaspoonful of cloves, one-quarter of a teaspoonful of all-
spice, two tablespoonfuls of flour. Put the molasses, sugar and butter in
a saucepan and boil gently over the fire until, when tr;ed in cold water,
a little of the mixture can be rolled into a very soft ball between the
fingers; cover and set aside until cold. Add the spice, then the flour,
and a pinch of salt. Butter liberally a number of shallow tins. Make
a tester by dropping a teaspoonful of the mixture on a greased pan and

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 107

baking it in a hot oven. This is necessary, as with some brands of flour
a trifle more may be indicated. The mixture will spread very much and
when taken from the oven the cake will be as thin as a wafer and should
be taken at once from the pan.

Berwick Sponge Cake. — Six eggs; powdered white sugar, three cup-
fuls; sifted flour, four even cupfuls; cream of tartar, two teaspoonf uls ;
soda, one teaspoonf ul; one cupful cold water, one-half of a lemon.
First beat the eggs two minutes, add the sugar and beat five minutes more,
then stir the cream of tartar in two cupfuls of the flour and beat one
minute; dissolve the soda in the water and add; wash the lemon dry,
then grate the rind and squeeze in the juice. Finally, add the remaining
two cupfuls of flour and beat all one minute. Put into deep pans in a
moderate oven. This will make two bars, or loaves. When it is done
it smells like fresh popcorn. There is considerable beating about this
cake, and therein lies the success. You can use three tablespoonfuls
baking powder (if you wish, in place of cream of tartar and soda), but
sift it in the two last cupfuls of flour. Have about the same heat as
for raised bread, put into the oven and let it remain certainly 20 min-
utes without looking at it. If it can bake until done without the oven
door being opened, so much the better.

Boiled Sponge Cake. — One and one-half cupful granulated sugar, two-
thirds cupful water, boiled until clear; pour over (beating while you
pour) the whites of five eggs which have been beaten very stiff in a large
platter; now beat until cold, and add yolk of eggs beaten smooth, juice
of a half lemon and one cupful of flour folded in gently. Bake in a slow
oven about three-fourths hour. Bake in oblong pan about two to 2J^
inches deep. Can be iced with any icing preferred, and will keep in-
definitely.

Never-Fail Sponge Cake. — This can be made and baked in 35 min-
utes. A good sponge should be yellow as gold, of velvety softness and
tender as a marshm.allow. If the rule here given is strictly followed,
such a cake will be the sure result : Separate the whites and yolks of
four eggs. Beat the whites until stiff enough to remain in bowl if it is
inverted, then beat into them one-half cup of sugar, which must be fine
granulated (powdered sugar makes tough cake and proper beating does
away entirely with the grains). Beat the yolks, add to them one-half
cupful of sugar, beating for five minutes by the clock — this latter being
important, as the delicate texture of the cake depends upon it; add to
the yolks the grated rind and juice of one lemon. Now beat well to-
gether the yolks and white. At this stage beating is in order, but must
be absolutely avoided after adding the flour, of which take one cupful.
The mixture should now look like a puff ball, and the flour is to be
tossed or stirred into it with a light turn of the wooden spoon. Stirring

108 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

is quite different from beating. The cupful of sugar must be generous,
the flour scanty. Bake for 25 minutes in a moderate oven. Just be-
fore putting in the oven sprinkle on top through a sifter about a table-
spoonful of granulated sugar. This gives the "crackly" top crust so
desirable.

Tory Wafers. — Melt a teacup of butter, a half a cup of lard, and mix
them with a quart of flour, a couple of beaten eggs, a teaspoonful of
salt, and flavoring. Add milk till of the right consistency to roll out;
roll it out about the third of an inch in thickness, cut it into cakes with
a cookie cutter, lay them on buttered baking plates, and bake them a
few minutes. Frost them as soon as baked, and sprinkle comfits or
sugar sand on the top.

Venetian Cake. — This makes a handsome loaf, and is -very good.
Beat together the yolks of six eggs and half a pint of sugar for 20
mJnutes. Fold in the stiffly beaten whites and mix in lightly 4^
rounded tablespoonfuls of flour. Pour into a buttered mold dusted
with equal parts of flour and sugar. Bake half an hour, with an increas-
ing heat, putting it into a moderate oven at first. When done invert it
on the pastry rack, and when cold frost with a vanilla chocolate icing.

Walnut Cake. — Cream two-thirds of a cupful of butter with one
cupful of sugar. Separate three eggs; beat the yolks until creamy and
add to butter and sugar; then add one cupful of milk alternating with
three cupfuls of flour (reserve enough of the flour for the nuts), add two
teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one cupful of nut kernels chopped, and
last of all fold in the whites of the eggs beaten to a stiff frotih. Bake
in a loaf tin in a moderate oven from 45 minutes to one hour.

Walnut Wafers. — One cup brown sugar, one cup chopped nuts, two
eggs, one tablespoon butter, flour enough to make very thick dough
(about eight tablespoonfuls), one teaspoon baking powder, vanilla. Beat
sugar and yolks together, add nuts, butter and flour; lastly the whites
beaten stiff and baking powder. Drop by one-half teaspoonful on but-
tered tins, allowing room to spread. Bake in quick oven.

Whigs. — Mix half a pound of sugar with six ounces of butter, a
couple of beaten eggs, a teaspoonful of cinnamon. Stir in two pounds
of flour, a teacup of yeast, and milk sufficient to m.ake a thick batter.
When light, bake them in small cups.

White Fruit Cake. — The whites of 16 eggs, one pound each of sugar,
flour and butter, one grated cocoanut, one pound chopped citron, one
pound chopped blanched almonds, one wineglass of rose water, two tea-
spoonfuls of baking powder. Flour citron and almonds well; bake care-
fully.

CHAPTER IX.

EGGS.

Eggs a la Bonne Femme. — Cut an onion into fine dice, fry it lightly in
a tablespoonful of butter, then dash in a teaspoonful of vinegar. But-
ter a shallow dish, sprinkle the fried onion over it, and break in five
eggs, being very careful that the yolks remain whole. Bake in a hot
oven until the whites become a delicate film. Dust with salt and white
pepper. Just before sending to the table sprinkle all over the dish
coarse bread crumbs fried delicately brown in butter, and garnish with
watercress or parsley.

A la Maitre d'Hotel. — Put the eggs in boiling water and boil six
minutes ; then take from the fire and dip in cold water, taking them
out immediately; this is to render shelling easy. When shelled, cut the
eggs through lengthwise and lay them on a hot dish on which maitre
d'hotel butter has been melted. With a spoon cover the eggs with this
sauce, which is made as follows : Mix with a spoon on a plate a piece
of butter the size of an egg with a tablespoonful of finely chopped* par-
sley, a pinch of salt, and pepper. Put it on a hot platter to melt. This
sauce is often served with fish, broiled meat or boiled vegetables. It is
very nice with new potatoes. Eggs boiled as above described are also
very good with strained tomato, or parsley sauce, while another varia-
tion is given by using black butter, sauce au beurre noir. To make this,
brown half a cupful of butter in the frying pan as brown as it can be
made without burning, then add two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, salt and
pepper. This sauce is very good with fish also.

Baked Eggs. — One large cupful of milk, add one teaspoonful of but-
ter (or more if wished), salt and pepper to taste, one teaspoonful of
flour, made smooth with a little extra milk. Boil about three minutes
and pour in heated dish, then break in five fresh eggs and put in hot
oven and bake until whites of eggs are set.

Baked Eggs with Cheese.— Cut 12 hard boiled eggs in thick slices,
nnd, having a buttered baking dish well sprinkled with dry crumbs, place
a. layer of eggs in the center. Sprinkle with grated cheese and season
lightly with salt and paprika. Add another layer of eggs and cheese
until the dish is filled, finishing with the cheese. Pour in a cream sauce
thickened with the yolks of three eggs, sprinkle with fresh bread crumbs
mixed with cheese, dot with butter and bake about 10 minutes in a hot
even, or until the cruiTibf! are a golden yellow. Serve at once.

no THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Baked Eggs With Mashed Potatoes. — The potatoes should be well sea-
soned, and beaten smooth with hot cream or milk and butter, so they
will be very light. Put in a buttered baking dish, and then with a
small croquette mold (or if this 's lacking, with a clean egg) make
deep little hollows in the potatoes. Drop an uncooked egg carefully
into each of these hollows, dust with salt and pepper, and dot the 1;op
with bits of butter; set in the oven until the eggs are cooked, and serve
at once.

Creamed Eggs. — Boil six eggs for about eight minutes. Cool, remove
shells, and cut into halves. Put two tablespoonfuls of butter in a
saucepan and blend with the same amount of flour. Add a cup of
water and stir until smooth. Put in some more butter, season with salt
and pepper and a little lemon juice. Stir in the eggs and serve on toast.

Eggs in Cream. — Use very thick cream, a dessert spoonful to each egg
to cook them in. Put the cream in a large deep granite ware pie dish
and set on top of the stove for a minute or two, until the cream gets thin.
Then break in the eggs ; sprinkle a little salt and white pepper over
each egg, set the dish back on the stove, cover close and let stand two
or three minutes, or until the eggs are nicely set. These are most de-
licious served with toast and coffee for breakfast.

Mexican Eggs. — Peel and chop four or five ripe tomatoes and lay
them in a shallow vegetable dish or on a platter on which the peppers
are to be served. Remove the stems and seeds from six or eight very
tender peppers, and if desired, the skins can be peeled off in this way.
Put them into a dry frying pan over a moderate fire, moving them
often until they are sufficiently wilted to allow the removal of the skins.
This done, put a small bit of cheese in each pepper and return them to
the pan with a good lump of butter. Fry them gently so the butter will
not scorch. When done pour three well-beaten eggs slightly salted into
the pan with the peppers and when set take them up by the spoonful —
a pepper in each — and lay them on the chopped tomatoes.

Omelets. — It is always better to make several small omelets than one
large one, if a number of persons are to be served. It is much more
likely to turn out well. Nearly everyone has her own special recipe for
this dish ; the regulation French omelet calls for three eggs well beaten,
to which three tablespoonfuls of water are added, and stirred in lightly.
A level tablespoonful of butter is melted in a perfectly smooth frying
pan and the omelet turned in; it is shaken gently to prevent sticking,
and when cooked rolled over with a flexible knife and slid on to a hot
dish. It is varied by putting in a filling before rolling over; half a cup
of grated cheese is very nice, or some jam or jelly for a sweet omelet,
which makes a rich dessert. Some cooks stir a little flour into the first

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. Ill

egg beaten, and separate the eggs, folding in the beaten whites last;
this makes a very light and puffy omelet.

Buttermilk Omelet. — Four eggs beaten separately, one cupful of but-
termilk, one-half teaspoonful of soda, three-quarters cup of finely rolled
cracker crumbs, a scant teaspoonful of salt, one-eighth of a teaspoonful
of pepper. Have two tablespoonfuls of butter hot in a frying pan.
Turn in omelet and fry a delicate brown. Place in oven for 10 minutes
and when firm fold and serve.

Fairy Omelet. — Beat yolks and whites of six eggs separately; add five
tablespoonfuls of milk to the yolks. Heat a skillet and put in a table-
spoonful of butter; let it melt, pour in the beaten yolks and pile be-
tween whites on the tcp; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and
cook three minutes, slip out on hot platter and serve by cutting through
yolks and whites.

French Omelet. — Beat thoroughly, first, the yolks and then the whites
of the eggs ; to the yolks add a tablespoonful of boiling water, a pinch
of salt and a dash of pepper; turn the stiff whites into the yolks and
fold; that is, stir them in so that the air bubbles shall not be broken.
Turn carefully into a frying pan, in which has been melted a large
piece of butter. Set where it may cook very slowly, and when well
browned on one side set in the oven to brown on the other. Send im-
mediately to the table. The omelet may be varied by dropping chopped
meat in it, chopped celery, grated cheese, or, if a sweet omelet is de-
sired, by spreading jelly over and folding.

Orange Omelet. — Beat yolks of three eggs ; add three tablespoonfuls
of sugar and the grated rind of one orange; add a pinch of salt to the
whites of the eggs and beat until stiff; mix the whites lightly with the
yolks, sprinkling in at the same time three tablespoonfuls of orange
juice; melt one teaspoonful of butter in a clean, small frying pan till
the bottom is greased; turn in the tgg mixture; cook slowly, turning
the pan that the bottom may brown evenly; when firm on the bottom
put pan in a hot oven; fold in half and turn out on a hot platter;
sprinkle over powdered sugar.

Pannikins. — Take some little earthen pans, such as are sold for toy
milk pans, capable of holding one egg only; heat them in the oven, and
when quite hot take them out, and with a paste brush butter them in-
side; break an Q.gg carefully into each pan; set them into the oven until
the white of the egg is hard enough to retain the form of the pan; turn
them out in a circle on the dish in which they are to be served. On the
top of each sprinkle a little fresh parsley or grated ham; have ready a
sauce of bread criHnbs beaten up with rich gravy, browned and seasoned;
place this in the center of the dish, the eggs inclosing it.

lis THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Canadian Poached Eggs. — A cupful of milk is brought to scalding
point in a shallow granite vessel, and into this the eggs are gently dropped,
then covered. The milk is not allowed to boil, merely kept at the scald-
ing point. The eggs will be ready in about two minutes, with the yolk
inside of a beautiful pearly film. Lift them out carefully with a skim-
mer and set each tgg on a slice of buttered, delicately-browned toast.
Add to the hot milk one tablespoonful of butter and one tablespoonful
of flour rubbed smooth, season with pepper and celery salt, beat till
creamy and pour over the poached eggs.

Poached Eggs in Glasses. — Add a few grains of salt to the white of
an egg (a level saltspoonful to five eggs) and beat until dry; turn into
a buttered glass and form a nest on the top for the yolk, which must
be ftcpt whole. Put the glass on a trivet, or an inverted tin cover, in a
covered dish of lukewarm water, letting the water come to within half
an inch of the top of glasses, and let cook until the tgg is set and rises
in the glass. Do not allow the water which is around the glass to boil.
Serve at once. Prepare as many eggs in glasses as there are persons
to be served. Dainty and wholesome for invalids.

Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce. — Put into the frying pan one table-
spoonful of butter, one tablespoonful of flour; heat until frothy; stir
into it V/z teacupful of tomato (which has been peeled and chopped
fine and heated) and then strain into the frying pan a dash of cayenne
pepper and a heaping saltspoonful of salt; cook until creamy, and drop
in four tggs, baste often, and when whites are set remove and put each
iigg on a quarter of a slice of buttered toast and pour sauce around
them.

St. Pancras Eggs. — Separate the yolks from the whites of five eggs;
keep each yolk separate; whip the whites to a stiff froth, adding a salt-
spoonful of salt; butter five small cups, put the whites into them and
carefully drop the yolk into the center of each ; dust with salt and pep-
per; place the cups in a shallow pan of hot water, put in the oven and
bake five minutes, or till the whites are set. Serve in the cups.

Egg Salad. — Boil six eggs perfectly hard, putting them on in cold
water and cooking 10 minutes after this reaches the boil, that the yolks
may be dry and mealy. Cut the whites in two, remove carefully and rub
the yolks to a paste with three tablespoonfuls of minced ham or chicken
or both, 10 drops of onion juice, a saltspoonful of mustard, a table-
spoonful of melted butter, salt to taste and half a teaspoonful of paprika.
Crowd this mixture back into the halved whites, cutting a bit off the bot-
tom of each cup, that it may stand upright, and letting the newly formed
yolk rise above the edge of the white as far as the original yolk would
have done. Arrange these on lettuce leaves and serve with a French
dressing or with boiled salad dressing.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 113

Scalloped Eggs.— Boil eight eggs hard ; put in cold water for five
minutes; then shell and cut into slices with very sharp knife; put a
layer in small buttered baking dish ; sprinkle with fine bread crumbs.
salted, a dash of pepper, small dots of butter; fill up dish in this man-
ner, having the bread crumbs on top with small pieces of butter; have
ready one cupful of hot milk, into which a teaspoonful of cornstarch
dissolved in a tablespoonful of milk has been well stirred, and a pinch
of salt; pour milk over eggs and crumbs; put in a quick oven for 15
minutes ; serve in baking dish.

Scrambled Eggs. — Break the required number of eggs in a bowl ;
beat until the 3'olks are broken. Put a lump of butter the size of a
walnut in a frying pan; as soon as it is melted turn in the eggs, and
b\\v until it is set. Serve immediately. A pleasing change is made in
scrambled eggs by stirring in a little potted meat or finely chopped par-
sley just before serving, and then sprinkling over the top some hot
browned bread crumbs.

Scotch Woodcock. — Make a half-pint of cream sauce, using one and
one-half tablespoonful of butter, one of flour and a cupful of cream.
Season with one-fourth of a saltspoonful of white pepper, and a half-
teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce. Shell and chop fine five hard-
boiled eggs, add them to the sauce, cook for three minutes and serve
on well-buttered rounds of crisp toast.

Welsh Rabbit. — Half a pound of cheese, two eggs, a speck of ca-
yenne, a tablespoonful of butter, on teaspoonful of mustard, half tea-
spoonful of salt, half a cupful of cream or rich milk. Break the cheese
in small pieces, and put all the ingredients in a double boiler, or in a
pan over hot water. Stir until the cheese melts ; then spread on toast
and serve at once.

Egg Timbales. — Beat four eggs, add to them one cup of milk, half
teaspoonful salt, and four dashes of pepper. Pour into buttered custard
cups, set these in a pan of hot water, and cook in a slow oven until the
timbales are set in the center. Turn out on a hot dish, and pour over
them a cream sauce made by placing half a pint of milk in a double
boiler; rub together a rounding tablespoonful each of butter and flour,
stir this into the boiling milk until it thickens, add half a teaspoonful of
salt and four dashes of pepper.

Egg Toast. — Butter a shallow pudding dish, put in it a layer of toast,
cut into narrow scrips, then a layer of hard-boiled whites of eggs, cut
into slices, then another layer of toast. Put over this the yolks of the
hard-boiled eggs, riced by passing through a vegetable press ; then pour
over all a rich cream sauce highly seasoned, and place in the oven until
it is well browned.

CHAPTER X. .

VEGETABLES.

Asparagus. — The average cook rarely tries any other mode than boil-
ing. Boil the stalks whole, after careful washing, tying in a bundle to
keep from breaking; drain, lay upon toast, and serve with cream sauce.
Another way is to cut in inch lengths, and stew in milk, thickening with
flour, and seasoning with butter, pepper and salt.

Asparagus a la Vinaigrette. — Cook as for boiled asparagus. While
cooking make a hot French dressing by mixing together in a saucepan
over the fire six tablespoonfuls of salad oil, two of vinegar, two tea-
spoonfuls of French mustard, half a teaspoonful of sugar, salt and pep-
per to taste. When the asparagus is tender drain, put in a deep dish
and pour over it the hot dressing. Cover and set aside to cool, then
stand in the ice chest for an hour or so before serving.

Baked Beans with Cream. — Soak and parboil a pint of navy beans
until half cooked; drain, dash over a quart of cold water, drain again
and add the last water (boiling) with two heaping teaspoonfuls of salt,
one-eighth teaspoonful pepper, one large sprig of thyme (minced), two
tablespoonfuls of beef drippings or the clean, browned trimmings of fat
from roast beef, and fried steak may be used instead of the drippings;
when beans are cooked tender turn all into a covered bean pot and
bake in a very moderate oven five hours. Then pour over the beans a
cupful of sweet cream and bake an hour longer.

Baked Beans and Tomato Sauce. — Prepare the beans as for ordinary
baking, by soaking and parboiling; then put in a crock, with the pork,
and add the sauce, which should be prepared while the beans are cook-
ing. Some cooks merely use the juice from a can of tomatoes; we pre-
fer to use some of the solid part, too. Stew slowly, put through a sieve
to make it smooth, and flavor with salt, pepper, a small pinch of clove,
a little mustard, and, if desired, a shred of onion. Do not thicken; pour
this over the beans, cover and bake. Add a little' water from time to
time if the beans seem to be becoming too dry. A little sugar may be
added to the sauce if the family taste approves.

String Beans and Bacon. — Cut one or two slices of tender mild-cured
bacon in tiny cubes and cook to a delicate brown in the frying pan.
Add a pint of hot cooked and drained string beans and a few drops of
onion juice. Shake the frying pan thoroughly. Add salt and pepper as
needed and turn into a hot dish. Peas may be served in the same way.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 115

Lyonnaise Beets. — Two cupfuls of boiled beets cut into half-inch
dice, three tablespoonfuls of vinegar, one tablespoonful of butter, one
tablespoon of chopped parsley, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt, half
the quantity of pepper. Put all of the ingredients except the beets into
a double boiler. When well heated add the beets, stir for a few min-
utes that they may absorb the dressing and serve very hot.

Baked Summer Cabbage. — Cut into quarters and boil tender in salt
and water two medium-sized heads of cabbage, drain and chop. Ar-
range an inch layer in the bottom of a baking dish. Sprinkle with black
pepper, then crumb in a layer of stale bread. Drop small bits of butter
over the bread crumbs. Repeat the process until the dish is nearly full,
bread coming on top. Then pour over the whole one pint of rich milk
or thin cream, and bake until nicely browned.

Baked Cabbage With Cheese. — Boil a firm white cabbage for 15 min-
utes in salted water, then change the water for more that is boiling, and
boil until tender. Drain and when cool chop fine. Butter a baking
ilish, and lay in the chopped cabbage. Put one tablespoonful of butter
>n a frying pan; when it bubbles stir in one tablespoonful of flour, one
half-pint of stock, same of boiling water; stir until smooth. Then
season with saltspoonful salt, half as much pepper, four tablespoonfuls
grated cheese. Pour over the cabbage, sprinkle cracker crumbs over the
top, dot with bits of butter and bake in a quick oven 10 minutes.

Browned Cabbage. — One small cabbage, one tablespoonful of buttter,
half a cupful of milk, two eggs and bread crumbs. Cut the cabbage into
small pieces and remove the hard center. Wash the pieces in cold wa-
ter ; then pour boiling water over them and let stand for 10 minutes.
Drain off the hot water and put the cabbage in boiling salted water to
cook until tender. When it is done pour off the water, pressing down
hard on the cabbage, to be sure that all the water has been drained away.
Chop as fine as possible, beat up the eggs, add the milk and stir all the
ingredients and seasoning with the cabbage. Put the whole into a but-
tered baking dish and bake for one hour in a moderate oven.

Red Cabbage, German Style. — Slice red cabbage thin, cover with
cold water, and let soak 20 minutes ; then drain. Put one quart in a stew
pan with two tablespoonfuls of butter, one-half teaspoonful of salt, one
tablespoonful of finely chopped onion and a few gratings each of nut-
meg and cayenne. Cover, and cook until the cabbage is tender; then
add two tablespoonfuls of vinegar and one-half tablespoonful of sugar,
and cook five minutes.

Carrot Ragout. — Clean and scrape enough new carrots to measure a
pint ; take the same quantity of new potatoes and white turnips, cutting
them in pieces about the size of the carrots. Cut a half cupful of leeks
in fine slices, Cook the carrots in boiling water for half an hour and the

116 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

other vegetables separately for 10 minutes. In a frying pan brown
slowly together two tablespoonfuls each of butter or dripping and flour;
add gradually one pint of stock or water and stir until thick and smooth.
Season with a level tablespoon! ul of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt and
one-quarter of a teaspoonful of white pepper, add the vegetables, cover
and simmef gently for half an hour, and before serving stir into it a
tablespoonful of parsley.

Baked Corn. — One quart corn scraped from cob; one and one-third
cupful cream.; one heaping tablespoonful of butter; season with salt
and pepper. Bake one hour.

Baked Corn and Tomatoes. — Fill an earthen pudding dish with alter-
nate layers of corn and tomatoes, each about an inch thick. Season each
with salt, pepper and butter. When the dish is full sprinkle with grated
bread crumbs and bits of butter. Cover the dish with a plate and bake
in a moderately hot oven for 20 minutes. Then remove the cover and
bake 15 minutes longer.

Corn Chowder. — Cut the kernels from a dozen ears of green corn.
Peel and mince two onions and fry them brown in three tablespoonfuls
of butter in a deep saucepan. Now put in the corn, four broken pilot
biscuits, add a half dozen parboiled and sliced potatoes. Season with
pepper, salt and a tablespoonful of minced parsley, and cover with a
quart of boilmg water. Let all cook gently for three-quarters of an hour,
then stir in slowly a cupful of boiling milk, thickened with a tablespoon-
ful of flour rubbed into one of butter. Turn at once into a heated tureen.

Escalloped Corn. — Into a buttered dish put a layer of green corn pulp,
sprinkling with salt and bits of butter. Over this spread a layer of
cracker crumbs, seasoned and moistened slightly with milk. Fill the dish
with alternate layers of corn and cracker crumbs, with crackers for top
layer and plenty of milk over the whole. Cover and bake one hour.

Hulled Corn. — New England taste demands a well-ripened white flint
corn for hulling, other sections prefer yellow, but it is always flint corn.
Babbitt's potash is used to remove the hulls, the proportion being one
full pound to a bushel of corn. Of course, when preparing corn for
home use, the same proportion would be observed in smaller quantities.
An iron kettle half filled with water is put on the stove, the potash added
when the water warms, and the corn put in when it comes to a boil. In
about an hour the starch will come out of the corn, thickening the lye.
The corn must be well stirred from the bottom, to avoid burning, and
the kettle kept back on the stove, so the corn will simmer without boiling
hard. After the first hour corn must be dipped out and tested in cold
water, to see if the hulls slip. If left in the potash too long it becomes
dark and sodden; if too short, it cannot be cooked tender. About 1^ to
two hours is the usual time. The corn is theo washed in clear water.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 117

When made in large quantities a clean, new broom, with about six inches
of the straw cut off, is used to rub off the hulls; a stiff whisk would
answer the same purpose with small quantities. A quantity of water will
be used during this scrubbing, the hulls being poured off with the water.
Put the corn on to boil in clear water; when it reaches the boiling point
draw it back, so that it may simmer. It should not be stirred, as this
makes it mushy. It requires long, slow simmering; when sufficiently
cooked it may be salted to taste, and drained in a colander. When
served it is either eaten with milk, or warmed up with butter in a frying
pan, and served like a vegetable. In the Summer hulled corn would
ferment very quickl}^, so its manufacture takes place only after hard freez-
ing has started in the Fall.

Hulled corn may also be prepared as follows : Wash two quarts of
shelled corn to remove loose bits ; then place in a large iron kettle with
two heaping tablespoons of saleratus, cover with cold water, let come
to a boil slowly and cook about an hour. Remove the kettle from fire,
drain off the water, then pour the corn, from which the hulls will already
be loosened, into a large pan of water. Rub the corn between the hands
to loosen the hulls; after taking off all those partly loosened put it on
again in warm water, let boil about half an hour, then try to remove
the rest of the hulls by rubbing as before. After all hulls are removed,
wash the corn in at least half a dozen clear waters, then put on once
more in warm water, and when it boils drain and add fresh water. Let
the corn cook in this last water until tender, salting to taste. If the
hulls do not come off readily let the corn boil an hour longer, adding a
teaspoon more saleratus.

Corn Pudding. — Two coffeecupfuls of green corn pulp, one cupful of
new milk, three eggs, two heaping tablespoonfuls of butter. Pour one
pint of the m.ilk over the corn and set on the fire until scalding hot. Beat
the yolks of the eggs and add the pint of cold milk and half a cupful of
sugar. Put the butter in the corn over the fire, and then add the milk
and yolks of eggs and a little salt. Put in a buttered pudding dish and
bake slowly. Make a meringue of the whites of the eggs and powdered
sugar and spread over the top when pudding is done, browning slightly.

Succotash. — Cook one pint of corn pulp in as little water as you can
without scorching. Put the cobs in a quart of water and boil hard for
20 minutes ; remove cobs and in this water boil one pint of shelled beans
until tender; drain and mix with the corn. Add butter the size of a
walnut, pepper, salt and half a cupful of thick cream, more if liked.
Serve hot.

Baked Egg Plant. — Select one that is firm and fresh, peel it and cut
it into quarters. Let it lie half an hour in salted water. Put it into boil-
ing water with a teaspoonful of salt. Cook until it can be easily pierced

118 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

with a fork. While the plant is cooking cut one medium-sized onion
into small pieces and cover it with salt water. In 10 minutes pour off the
water and put the chopped onion into a hot pan, with a tablespoonful of
butter. Cook until it is thoroughly tender and brown. Drain the tgg
plant in a colander, put into a bowl, stir with a silver fork until it is
broken up, but not mashed. Mix with it an equal quantity of rolled
bread crumbs, add the browned onion and one well-beaten tgg. Season
with a dash of salt, two dashes of pepper, and add a dessertspoonful of
butter. Put the mixture into a well-buttered earthen dish, bake just
long enough to be nicely browned. Serve hot in the dish in which it is
baked.

Dutch Hutspot. — Boil six carrots with six onions (medium size) one
hour, or until tender. In another kettle boil six medium-sized potatoes
until done. Drain all the water from both, put them together, mash them
well, add one teaspoonful of salt, one-half teaspoonful of sugar, one-
quarter teaspoonful of pepper, one-half cupful of butter and one-half
cupful of milk or cream. Beat well and serve hot.

Macaroni and Cheese. — The macaroni is first put into boiling salted
water and cooked tender — a half hour or less — then it is drained, and
rinsed with cold water, and cut in convenient pieces. A buttered pudding
dish is then filled with alternate layers of the macaroni and chopped or
grated cheese, perhaps a cupful of the cheese to a quart of the cooked
macaroni. Season with salt and pepper, fill the dish with milk, and cover
with bread or cracker crumbs mixed with a little melted butter and bake
in a moderate oven for nearly an hour, or till the macaroni absorbs most
of the milk.

Macaroni, Italian Style. — Four tablespoonfuls of butter, one-half
pound of macaroni, an onion, parsley, herbs, tomato catsup and spice.
Put in a pan one tablespoonful each of finely-chopped onion, parsley and
rosemary; fry in bubbling butter until well browned; add four table-
spoonfuls of tomato catsup, some mixed spice, four tablespoonfuls of
butter and one quart of boiling water; put in macaroni broken into
medium-sized pieces ; frequently shake the pan and stew over a slow fire
until the macaroni is tender. Arrange on a hot dish, pouring the sauce
over. Sprinkle thickly with grated cheese.

Okra, Creole Style. — Wash, trim and cut into slices a quart of young,
tender okra; place in a granite saucepan two teaspoonfuls of butter, a
medium-sized onion, a medium-sized green pepper, both minced fine; stir
over the fire until a golden brown, then add three large tomatoes peeled
and cut into pieces, three tablespoonfuls of Spanish or some hot pepper
sauce and salt to taste, and the okra. Cover the saucepan and simmer
gently for half an hour. Turn out on a hot dish and sprinkle over with
a teaspoonful of minced parsley and serve.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 119

Baked Onions. — Peel and cut in thick slices large white onions. Par-
boil in plenty of salted water, drain well, arrange in a buttered baking
dish, dot with bits of butter and bake until soft and a pale yellow.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cover with a half-inch layer of grated
crumbs thickly dredged with grated cheese. Return to the oven long
enough to melt the cheese.

Escalloped Onions. — Slice some onions and cook in salted water until
done, drain and put layers of onion and cracker crumbs seasoned with
salt, pepper and butter in pudding dish; moisten with milk. Bake 20 to
30 minutes.

Baked Split Peas. — Rub a large baking dish with onion. Turn into
this a pint of split peas soaked until soft. Chop a large onion very fine
and spread over the top of the peas with' pepper and salt. If you have
left over gravy or stock pour it over the mixture. If not, cover with
water, spreading over all bacon cut into the thinnest possible slices. Bake
in the oven for two hours and add a little boiling water if the peas get
too dry.

French Fried Potatoes. — Old potatoes are better for this, or the little
yellowish potatoes that German cooks use for potato salad. These con-
tain more gluten. Peel very thin and cut in long thin strips lengthwise.
Let them stand in cold salted water for two or three hours. Drain and
wipe dry; put into a wire basket and fry in very hot, deep fat until brown.
Take out and lay on a piece of manila paper to absord the fat; dust with
salt and serve. Another way to fry potatoes is to put a little olive oil in
a deep frying pan ; when very hot add sliced cold boiled potatoes. Cover,
and cook until a golden brown, turning once. Drain, put in a hot vege-
table dish and sprinkle with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Still another
way, that the French chef delights in, is to chop cold boiled potatoes, then
season lightly with salt, pepper and onion juice. Put a couple of table-
spoonfuls of olive oil or good drippings in the frying pan, turn in the
potatoes, press into a solid cake and cook slowly until crusty and brown
on the under side. Turn on to a hot platter, with the brown side upper-
most.

Potatoes au Gratin. — Peel and cut into dice half a dozen potatoes,
crisp in cold water, then drain, and boil until tender. Drain the water
off, put the potatoes in a baker, season with pepper and salt, stir a table-
spoonful of butter through the pieces, pour over them half a cup of milk,
cover the top with grated cheese, bake quickly and serve hot.

Potato Chowder. — Wash and pare four large potatoes. Cut them
into small dice. Chop fine one-quarter of a pound of ham and one good-
sized onion. Slowly fry the ham and onion together until a light brown,
then in a saucepan put alternate layers of the ham and diced potato,
seasoning well with salt and pepper. Add one tablespoonful of finely-

120 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

chopped parsley and one pint of boiling water, cover and simmer slowly
until the potatoes are tender, which will take about twenty minutes. In
a second saucepan thicken two cupfuls of milk with one tablespoonful
of butter, and one tablespoonful of flour, simmer for a moment, add it
to the chowder and let cook for two minutes longer.

Potato Dumplings. — Boil six large potatoes and mash, seasoning with
one-half teaspoonful salt. Place on a board. Add to this one tgg and
one-half cupful flour; knead into a dough. Roll out into strips, one-half
inch thick, and cut into inch lengths. Sprinkle the pieces with flour, so
that they are quite dry. Place enough of the dumplings in a saucepan
of boiling water to allow them freedom to swim, and allow them to boil
about eight minutes. Remove the dumplings from the water, with a
perforated spoon, to a hot frying pan, in which one cupful bread crumbs
have been browned in about two tablespoonfuls butter. All of the dump-
lings can be placed in the pan at the same time. They should be stirred
from time to time, until nicely browned, keeping a small fire under the
pan. Serve hot.

German Sour Potatoes. — Boil four good-sized potatoes. When done
and cold, skin and cut into cubes. Place these in a bowl and add salt
and pepper to taste. Now mix in another bowl half a pint of. sweet oil
and four tablespoonfuls of sweet cider vinegar, one good-sized onion,
grated fine and sprigs of parsley finely chopped. Mix these together well
and pour over the potatoes. Now place the empty bowl on top of the
full one and shake up and down until well mixed. Garnish the dish with
lemon slices, cut in halves.

Hashed Brown Potatoes. — Cut or chop finely a quart of cold baked
or boiled potatoes and put them down in a frying pan in which has been
dissolved a tablespoonful of butter and an equal quantity of tried-out suet
or beef dripping. Let the potatoes simmer in this and season with pepper
and salt; have the pan covered. When the potatoes seem rich and moist
throughout and browned underneath add a sprinkling of finely-minced
parsley and with a large, flexible knife loosen the potatoes from the bot-
tom of the pan, turning the sides over toward the middle as in making
an omelet, and slip them carefully on to the serving dish. For a pint of
potatoes use half the quantity of butter and drippings.

Lyonnaise Potatoes. — Put I'yi tablespoonful of butter in a frying pan;
when melted add a scant tablespoonful of chopped onion; let it slightly
color, then add two cupfuls of cold boiled potatoes cut into dice. Stir
until the potato has absorbed all the butter and become slightly browned;
then sprinkle with salt, pepper and a tablespoonful of chopped parsley.
Mix well and serve very hot.

Scalloped Potatoes. — Peel and slice very thin one medium-sized potato
for each person to be served, and allow the slices to remain in cold water

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 121

till crisp. Prepare as you would scalloped oysters with cracker crumbs
and salt and pepper sprinkled over each layer, and small dots of butter.
Cover the top of the pan with crumbs and carefully pour on sweet milk
almost to cover without disturbing the cracker crumbs. Bake two hours
and a half in a steady oven, removing cover from pan during last half
hour. It is better to use your thickest, heaviest kettle cover or earthen-
ware pie pan for the first hour in the oven.

Spaghetti with Brown Sauce. — Put a half pound of spaghetti into
slightly-salted boiling water. Boil half an hour, drain and pour into a
buttered granite pan. Pour over it the following brown sauce : Heat
three tablespoonfuls butter, stir into this two tablespoonfuls flour, stir
till smooth. Draw to a cooler place on the stove and add gradually one
cupful. cold water, stirring constantly. Let it boil up, add one r ant tea-
spoonful salt, one-fourth teaspoonful pepper, one teaspoonful of catsup,
simmer two or three minutes, pour over spaghetti, set it into the oven
and let it bake 10 or 15 minutes.

Squash Puff. — Press dry cooked squash through a sieve; to a half pint
add two tablespoons of melted butter, quarter of a cup of milk, seasoning
of salt and pepper, and two beaten o^gg yolks. Mix thoroughly, fold in
two beaten tgg whites, and turn into a buttered mold, set in a pan of
hot water and bake in the oven until the center is firm. Serve turned
from the mold and accompanied by a rich cream sauce made from one
tablespoon each of flour and butter with a cup of scalded cream or rich
milk and seasoning of salt, pepper, celery salt and mace. This can be
baked in individual molds if desired.

Scalloped Squash. — Two cupfuls of boiled squash run through a
colander, and then let cool ; two eggs, a tablespoonful of melted butter,
half a cup of milk; pepper and salt; half a cupful of bread crumbs. Beat
eggs, butter and milk and squash light ; season ; pour into a buttered bake
dish, sift crumbs over it and bake, covered, half an hour; then brown
lightly.

Stewed Summer Squash. — Wash, pare, cut into pieces after removing
the seeds, cook in a small quantity of water until tender ; drain and press
dry, salt slightly and serve on golden-browned toast with a cream dress-
ing made as follows : Into half a pint of rich milk stir one teaspoonful
of cornstarch, let boil until slightly thickened, then pour it over the toast
and squash.

Sweet Potato, Southern Style. — Peel and boil until they are thoroughly
but not too well cooked. Then they should be cut into four pieces length-
wise and placed in a tin baking pan. Butter and sugar should be placed
over the potatoes abundantly before they are put in the oven to bake
slowly. After a while, the butter and sugar mingling with the juice of
the potatoes, forms a delicate crust that should be cooked until it has

123 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

almost reached the point at which it is candy. Under this crust is a
thick, rich syrup of the sap of the potatoes, sugar and butter.

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes. — Select large, fine potatoes of uniform size.
Bake them soft, taking care that they do not burn. With a sharp knife
cut a slit lengthwise in each and scrape out the inside, breaking the skin
as little as possible. Put the pulp into a bowl; work into it a tablespoon-
ful of butter, enough hot milk to make a soft paste; salt and pepper to
taste, and a teaspoonful of lemon juice. Beat light, and fill the emptied
skins with the mixture. Bring the cut edges neatly together, and set the
potatoes back in the oven to reheat. Serve in a deep dish lined with a
heated napkin.

Baked Tomatoes, Italian Style. — Pour two tablespoonfuls of olive oil
into a baking dish. Add four tablespoonfuls of grated bread crumbs
that have already been mixed with parsley and other herbs, all of which
must have been chopped very fine. Season with pepper and salt. Upon
this bed of oil and crumbs lay a dozen tomatoes that have been cut in
halves. Cover them with four more tablespoonfuls of bread crumbs that
have previously been seasoned in the same way. Pour over all two more
tablespoonfuls of oil and send the dish to a hot oven, where the tomatoes
must bake for about one hour.

Panned Tomatoes. — These are excellent served with roast meats. Put
in a pan with two ounces of butter six firm tomatoes that have been cut
in halves. Cook slowly on the top of the range for 10 minutes, then
brown quickly in the oven. Remove the tomatoes to a hot platter, and
make a sauce by adding to the browned butter two tablespoonfuls of
flour, and after it is rubbed smooth one pint of milk. Stir until boiling.
Season well with salt and pepper and pour over the tomatoes. Garnish
with parsley and points of toast.

Scallop of Tomatoes and Potatoes. — Season a pint of peeled and
chopped tomatoes with salt, pepper and onion juice to suit the taste, and
add enough potatoes to make a cupful when chopped fine. Butter a baking
dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs and put in half of the tomatoes;
then a layer of soft crackers, buttered and broken in coarse bits. Cover
the crackers with two heaping tablespoonfuls of grated American cheese.
Then add the remainder of the tomatoes, more cracker crumbs and bits
of butter and place in a hot oven. Bake 20 minutes. Serve at once.

CHAPTER XI.

CANNING AND PRESERVING.

This chapter does not aim to cover the entire ground, but to give
briefly the experience of other housewives, which may include some in-
formation not generally found in print. There are still many housewives
who laboriously can fruit by cooking it in a kettle, and then lifting it
into the jars; we make preserves in that way, but our canned fruit
is packed into jars, covered with hot syrup, and then cooked by standing
the jars in water in a wash boiler. Instead of putting odd pieces .of bbard
in the bottom of the boiler to rest the jars on, have a board made to fit,
with three cleats across it underneath and a number of auger holes bored
in it so that the water passes through. We usually put enough water to
come half way up the jars, but some housekeepers elevate the jars above
the water and cover the boiler closely, thus cooking the fruit in the steam.
Of course there are cooking kettles made for this purpose which are
more convenient than a wash boiler.

Fruit is canned without sugar after the following method: Fill the
jars with fruit; then pour in as much water as they will hold; adjust the
rubbers; lay the lids carefully on top without fastening them down; stand
the jars in a wash boiler, the bottom of which has been protected with a
rack; surround them with cold water; put the lid on the boiler; bring to
boiling point and boil strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and currants
for twenty minutes; cherries, for three-quarters of an hour; pineapples,
for half an hour; peaches and pears, for half an hour. Strawberries and
raspberries are better without water. Fill the jars with fruit, bring them
to boiling point, and when the fruit shrinks or settles you may fill two
jars from a third; put them back in the boiler; cook for five or 10
minutes longer and then fasten on the lids. Seal the jars. Lift the jars
one at a time and screw on the lids without lifting them. Wipe the jars,
put them into a cool place out of the draught. Next morning give each
lid a turn and store in a cool dark place.

Canned fruit may also be cooked in the oven. Pack the prepared
fruit in the jars, fill up with hot syrup, and lay the cover on top of the
jar without fastening. Place in the oven, setting in a dripping-pan holding
about two inches of water, or on a strip of asbestos. The oven should be
moderately hot. Cook the fruit 10 or 15 minutes, dependent again upon
the fruit, then lift from the oven, one can at a time, fill to overflowing
with the scalding syrup, running the blade of a silver knife around the
edge of the can to allow for the escape of all air-bubbles, then wipe and

124 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

screw as tightly as possible. Set the jars on a thickly folded newspaper,
out of a draft, until the fruit has cooled, then tighten again.

The following method is highly recommended for small fruits : Look
over the fruit carefully, using only that which is perfect. Place in glass
jars, that are also perfect. Shake down the fruit, but do not press down.
Have ready enough hot syrup to cover the fruit. Fill the can full of the
syrup, including the fruit already in. Screw on the cover tightly, and
drop into a pail of boiling water. Be sure that the water is boiling, and
that it covers the can well. Remove the pail to the table or some other
convenient place; when the water is cool, take out the can, screw down
the cover, if it is not tight, label, wrap in brown paper, and put away in
the fruit cupboard.

Some firm fruits, and also rhubarb, may be canned without cooking,
being packed into the bottle, v/hich is then filled with cold water. The
jar is filled to overflowing, and any air bubbles removed by running the
blade of a silver knife down the side ; it is then sealed tightly and stored
in a cool dark place.

Try to avoid beet sugar when making jelly. We have never succeeded
in hardening a fruit jelly made with beet sugar, and many exasperating
cases of jelly that won't "jell" are due to this cause. Marian Harland
says that many years ago she v/as advised to use one-fifth more beet sugar
than a recipe called for when cane sugar was used.

Almack's Preserves. — This is a foreign recipe. Peel and stone one
quart of large ripe plums; peel and slice one dozen apples and one dozen
pears. Arrange in an earthen jar in alternate layers, adding one pound
of sugar to each pound of fruit. Set on back of range on an asbestos
mat and simmer slowly until a little when cooled on ice shows it to be
of such a firm consistency that it can be cut with a knife, for it is to be
served cut in slices. When sufficiently cooked put away in a shallow jar
from which it will be easy to cut it out. Seal like jelly, with paraffin
before covering.

Preserved Ginger. — Clean and wash some fine green ginger roots, let
them lie several hours in cold water, drain and place the roots in la
kettle of boiling water, cook 20 minutes ; drain and rinse off with oold
water; return the ginger to the kettle, cover with fresh boiling water and
cook until the ginger is soft; drain and put in cold water. Next day
drain the roots in a sieve and weigh them; allow for each pound one
pound of sugar and one-half pint of water ; boil sugar and water five
minutes, add the ginger, boil a few minutes, remove and pour the ginger
in a bowl. Twelve hours later drain off the syrup, boil it three minutes
and pour it over the ginger ; repeat this twice more. Then drain off all
the syrup, place over the fire, boil to a soft ball, add the ginger, cook two
minutes and fill into jars.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 125

Canned Baked Apples, — Select good tart cooking apples ; wash, remove
the blossom end, but do not peel. Arrange in a baking pan with hot
water to half fill the pan. Sprinkle with sugar, bits of sweet butter, and
a dash of any spice if desired, and bake until tender. Can while hot, using
the juice in which they were baked. Stand the jar in hot water 30
minutes before wanted for use, and you will have perfect baked apples
for breakfast. Pears canned the same way are fine, or pears with thinly
sliced quince scattered among them.

Canned Porter Apples. — Wipe, quarter, core and peel the apples, then
weigh them. Make a syrup by boiling for 10 minutes one-third the weight
of the apples in granulated sugar with water, the proportion being 2V2
cupfuls of water to one pound of sugar. Cook the apples slowly in the
syrup until soft; do not crowd them. Skim out the apples carefully into
jars, cover with the boiling syrup, and seal.

Apple Ginger. — Tie a little ginger root in a bag. A quarter of a pound
will do for eight pounds of apples. Put the bag of ginger into three
pints of cold, clear water. When the water is highly flavored add about
three-quarters of a pound of sugar to every pound of apples. The three
pints of water will be sufficient for six pounds of sugar. Add the juice
of two lemons, laying aside the yellow peel cut in shreds. Clarify the
syrup by allowing it to cool after it has cooked five minutes and mixing
the white of two eggs and the shells in the cooled syrup. Return the
syrup to the fire, let it boil up once, and then draw to the back of the
stove. A scum will cover it. Strain into a clean saucepan, add the
yellow peel of the lemons and put in quarters of apples. As soon as
cooked, lift them out and put in more. Place the apples into jars and
pour the syrup over them.

Apple Orange Marmalade. — Core and slice 20 large tart apples. Allow
for every quart one pint of water. Add the thin peel of one orange, cover
and boil until tender. Place a sieve over a bowl, pour in the apples and
let drain without disturbing. Allow for each pint one pound of sugar.
Peel four large oranges, remove white part and seeds and set aside. Boil
apple juice till very thick, add orange cut into small pieces and cook until
a drop retains its shape on a plate. Put in glass jars and cover like
jelly. The apple pulp may be used in pies.

Preserved Apples. — Pare and core fine, ripe pippins, and cut them into
quarters. Weight and to each pound allow one pound of granulated sugar
and a half pint of boiling water, the grated rind of one and the juice of
two lemons. Boil the sugar and water until clear (about three minutes),
skimming the scum from the surface, add the juice and rind of the lemons,
then the apples, and simmer gently until they are clear and tender, but
not broken, then stand aside to cool. When cold, put them into jars, cover

126 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

closely and stand in a cool, dark place for one week. At the end of that
time turn them carefully into the kettle, bring them to boiling point, and
simmer for five minutes, then return them to the jars, cover closely with
tissue paper brushed over with the white of an egg, and put in a dark,
cool place to keep. Apples are more difficult to keep than any other fruit.

Blackberry cheese is an old-fashioned but excellent recipe. Three pounds
apples, peeled and cored ; three pounds blackberries. To each pound pulp
allow three-quarters pound sugar. Peel, core and slice the apples, put
them in a jar with the blackberries, which must be picked over, and let
them remain in the oven for three-quarters of an hour, or till the fruit
is quite soft; pulp through a sieve, and to every pound of pulp allow
three-quarters of a pound of sugar; boil the pulp for another hour; put
into jars very hot, and when, cold cover in the usual way. It should be
firm enough to slice when turned out.

Barberry Jam. — Pick three pounds of barberries from the stalk, put
them in a jar or farina boiler, with three pounds of sugar. Stand the jar
in a saucepan of boiling water, and simmer gently until the sugar is
dissolved and berries soft, then stand aside all night. In the morning
put them in a porcelain-lined kettle, and simmer slowly for 25 minutes,
stirring continually. Turn into glasses and seal when cool, like jelly.

Barberry Preserves. — This is a very old-fashioned recipe. Four quarts
of barberries picked from the stems, washed and drained. Heat one large
quart of molasses and one quart of white sugar together until the sugar
is dissolved. Skim, and then add the barberries. Cook until they begin
to pop and shrivel, which will be in about 10 minutes. Skim them into a
stone jar, then boil the syrup slowly until it will cover the berries.

Bar le Due Preserves. — Take selected red (or white) currants of large
size, one by one, carefully make an incision in the skin, one-fourth an
inch in size, with tiny embroidery scissors. Through this slit, with a
sharp needle, remove the seeds, separately, preserving the shape of the
fruit. Take the weight of the currants in strained honey and, when hot,
add the currants. Let simmer a minute or two, then seal as jelly. The
currants retain their shape, are of a beautiful color and melt in the
mouth. Should the currants liquefy the honey too much, carefully skim
them out, reduce the syrup at a gentle simmer to desired consistency and
store as before after adding the fruit.

Black Currants. — Gather the currants on a dry day; to every pound
allow half a pint red currant juice and a pound and a half of finely
pounded loaf sugar. Clip off the heads and stalks; put the juice, currants
and sugar in a preserving pan; shake it frequently till it boils; carefully
remove the fruit from the sides of the pan, and take off the scum as it
rises; let it boil for 10 or 15 minutes.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 127

Blueberry j\Iixtures. — A combination of blueberries and gooseberries,
one portion of gooseberries to three of the blueberries, canned in the
ordinary fashion, makes an excellent Winter sauce or filling for pies. So
does a combination of blueberries and rhubarb, one cupful of rhubarb
and one cupful of sugar to a quart of blueberries.

Cherry Conserve. — Five quarts cherries (sour), one pound raisins
(seeded and cut) ; two oranges (pulp cut in pieces, also yellow of skin) ;
one pound English walnuts (chopped) ; 2J'2 pounds sugar. Cook until
thick and put in jelly tumblers. Cherries must be boiled about 20 minutes
before putting in sugar, etc.

Cherry Conserve No. 2. — Three pounds sour cherries; two pounds
raisins; four pounds granulated sugar; four large oranges. Seed and
steam the raisins for half an hour. Grate some of the orange peel in the
cherries. Do not use the orange skin. Cut the pulp into small pieces.
Mix all the ingredients together, boil for 20 minutes, put in glasses.

Cherry Preserve, Sun-cooked. — Pit the cherries, which must be perfect
ripe fruit, weigh, and put in a preserving kettle, allowing three-quarters of
a pound of sugar to each pound of fruit. Do not add any water; the
juice and sugar make the syrup. Bring to a boil, and boil for 20 minutes,
stirring to avoid burning and skimming to keep clear. Skim out the
fruit, putting on shallow platters, pour the syrup over, and cover with
clean panes of glass. Put the platters out in the sun, and keep outdoors
three days, bringing in at night. Then put in jars, like any other pre-
serve. The sun cooks the syrup to a honey-like consistence, and the flavor
is delicious. Strawberries cooked the same way have all the rich frag-
rance of the fresh fruit.

Citron Preserves. — Pare and core the citron, cut into strips and notch
the edges, or cut into fancy shapes. Allow a pound of sugar to a pound
of fruit, and to six pounds of the fruit allow four lemons and a quarter
of a pound of ginger root. Tie the ginger root in a cloth and boil it in a
quart and a half of water until the flavor is extracted; then remove it and
add to the water the sugar and the juice of the lemons. Stir until the
sugar is dissolved and the syrup is clear, remove any scum that may form,
then add the citron and cook until it is clear, but not soft enough to fall
apart; can and seal while hot.

Citron Preserves No. 2.— Cut the citron in strips half an inch wide,
pare off the rind as thin as possible and cut up the fruit in small squares.,
Put in a vessel and cover the fruit with water in which has been dis-
solved an ounce of alum to the gallon of water. Soak 24 hours, or until
the citron is clarified. Take out of alum water and soak in clear water
until the alum is all out, which will probably be in 12 hours. Weigh and
allow to each pound of fruit a pound of sugar. Put the fruit in a pre-
serving kettle with only a little sugar, adding sugar several times until

128 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

the weighed amount has been used. Season with any flavoring preferred.
Cook rapidly until done, put in glass cans and seal.

Citron Preserves No. 3. — Pare a large citron, cut into thin slices, and
then into strips or squares, removing all seeds. Weigh equal quantities of
fruit and sugar, mix together, and stand over night in a large bowl ; the
sugar draws out juice, forming a syrup. In the morning put in a pre-
serving kettle, and boil slowly for two to three hours, skimming carefully,
until the syrup is like honey. About 15 minutes before taking from the
stove add, for each quart of preserves, one lemon cut in very thin slices,
and one small piece of green ginger root. Some housekeepers add a few
whole cloves, but we do not care for this. Another method puts the
sliced fruit to soak in brine for a few hours, then in clear water to freshen
it, this process hardening the fruit, but we have never used this process,
and are quite satisfied with the first recipe given.

Dried Citron. — To prepare citron for cakes and pies cut the fruit in
four parts, pare and remove the seeds; then take a couple of quarts of
clear water, dissolve a piece of alum the size of a hickorynut in the
water, put in the preserving kettle as much citron as the water will cover
and boil until tender enough to pierce with a straw; then boil in sugar;
a pint bowl of sugar to the same measure of fruit. Boil one-half hour.
Spread it on pie plates and set it in a cool oven or heater and let it dry
perfectly.

Preserved Crab Apples. — The apples should be very ripe. Wash them
well in cold water; put them into a porcelain-lined kettle and just cover
with boiling water. Let them cook very gently until you can remove the
skins easily. Drain them, peel and carefully remove the cores, but do not
break the apples or remove the stems. Weigh them, allowing one and
one-quarter pound of sugar to a pound of fruit; allow a cupful of water
to this quantity of sugar. Put water and sugar over the fire and bring to
boiling point. Skim until clear, then put in the apples and cook very
gently until they are tender and transparent. Skim while cooking. When
they are done put them into small, large-mouthed jars, and when cool
seal same as jelly.

Currants, Canning. — Wash the currants, being careful not to break
them; remove stems, and pack currants into quart cans, shaking them
down well. To each can add one cup hot sugar, .place the jars on a
wooden frame in the boiler, place the covers loosely on the cans, and put
enough of cold water in the boiler, so when it begins to boil it will not
boil into the cans. After the water has boiled for half an hour, the cans
should be lifted out, the covers screwed on tight and put in a cool, dark
place until wanted for the table. For those that like mixed fruits, a layer
of strawberries or raspberries and then a layer of currants may be packed
in the cans.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 129

Currant Conserve. — Five pcunds currants; four pounds sugar; one
pound seeded raisins; four oranges. Grate rind and squeeze out juice of
oranges. Boil all together half hour. Put in jelly glasses.

Currant Sauce. — Five pounds of currants, heat in preserving kettle, put
in a muslin bag and squeeze out all juice. Add five pounds granulated
sugar, one pound raisins, seeded and chopped fine, two oranges, chopped
fine. Boil till like jelly. The sender of this recipe does up currants with-
out cooking. Occasionally she says a can spoils, but on the whole she has
good luck, every can keeping perfectly some years. The currants are
looked over carefully, washed and then mashed thoroughly, a glass bottle
being good for this purpose. She then adds sugar, pound for pound. The
fruit is sealed in cans, using new rubbers each time. Pineapples are also
put up in somewhat the same way. IMrs. C.'s way is to chop the fruit
fine, add sugar pound for pound. The fruit thus prepared is left in a
gallon crock for two days, its contents being stirred frequently with a
silver spoon. At the end of the second day the fruit is put in air-
tight cans.

Cranberry and Apple Jam. — Take two pounds of cranberries and two
pounds of apples after they are peeled, cored and chopped. Put them in
a preserving pan with V/2 pounds of sugar. When it comes to the boil
keep the preserve boiling for half an hour, then try a little on a cold
saucer, and if on cooling it sets well it will be sufficiently done. Tie down
in small jars. This makes a delicious preserve, the cranberries imparting
a fine flavor and giving in addition a brilliant color.

Damson Cheese. — Boil the fruit, with only enough water to prevent
burning, until tender; rub through a hair sieve until like a paste, add six
ounces of sugar to each pound of fruit, stir off the fire until the sugar is
dissolved, then add four chopped kernels from the fruit to each quart, and
put back to boil. It is wise to put an asbestos mat under the preserving
kettle, as the fruit will catch and burn very easily. Boil, stirring con-
tinually, until the preserve will leave the pan quite dry and adhere in a
mass to the spoon. Press into jelly glasses, and when cold cover with
paraffin before sealing. When served, the damson cheese is turned out
of the glass, and cut in thin slices.

Elderberries. — These may be combined with gooseberries, crab apples
and green grapes, equal parts of either, making a piquant table sauce,
while pies made from them might please the individual who does not
care for the flavor of the single fruit. For Winter use elderberries may
be preserved in either of the above combinations and treated as other fruit,
or canned plain without sugar for use in pies only. When making pies
from the plain canned fruit it is wise to cook the berries with the same
proportion of sugar, flour, etc., as given for fresh berries, filling the pie
paste when cold. This insures a jelly-like consistency of the finished

130 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

product without those unpalatable doughy lumps too often seen. Again
they may be spiced and used as a table sauce or in pies, using the same
proportion.

Pickled Elderberries for Pies. — Seven pounds elderberries, stemmed,
four pounds sugar, one pint vinegar, two tablespoonfuls cinnamon, one
tablespoon cloves. Boil until the juice is rather thick. They will keep
in an open jar.

Preserved Elderberries. — Seven pounds of elderberries, three pounds of
granulated sugar, three lemons sliced thin; put the elderberries alone in a
stone jar in warm salt and water over night. Next morning drain them
in a colander, make syrup of the sugar and lemons and one pint of water,
then put elderberries in the syrup and cook. When they begin to boil
hard time them 20 minutes, then pour in a jar or can ready for use.

Preserved Elderberries No. 2. — Shell berries. To an eight-quart panful
use a heaping tablespoon of salt, pour on hot water and let stand half
an hour; drain well. To seven pounds of berries thus prepared, use three
pounds of sugar and one pint of vinegar; boil well. If one wish to keep
in jars without sealing they should be boiled down thoroughly. For pies
add a little sugar and flour enough slightly to thicken the juice.

Spiced Elderberries. — Nine pounds cleaned elderberries, three pounds
brown sugar, one pint vinegar and one ounce each of cloves, cinnamon
and allspice. Put sugar and vinegar in a two-gallon granite kettle over
a slow fire and let come to a boil. Add berries and let simmer two and a
half hours. Tie spices in little muslin bags and add when nearly done.
Seal in air-tight cans.

Preserved Figs. — Take fresh, ripe figs, cut off half the stem of each
and let soak all night in very weak brine, using two tablespoonfuls of
salt to each quart of water. In the morning drain and cover with fresh
water. Make a thick' syrup, allowing three-quarters of a pound of sugar
to each pound of fruit, and one-half cupful of water to each pound of
sugar. Simmer for a few minutes until the syrup is clear, then drain
and lay in it the freshened figs and simmer slowly until they look clear.
Into each jar drop a half-inch piece of green ginger and the kernels of
half a dozen peach stones, fill with fruit and syrup and seal. They should
not be used for at least three months.

Garfield Butter. — Use two-thirds plums and one-third peaches. Stone
the plums and pare and stone the peaches. Mash and heat slowly to boil-
ing, boil until soft, then rub through a sieve. Measure the pulp thus
obtained and to one measure of fruit add three-quarters of a measure
of sugar. Boil until thick, stirring continually, then put into jars and seal.

Canned Grapes. — After picking ripe grapes from the stem, wash them.
Remove the skins, keeping them and the pulps separate. Cook the pulps
until the seeds begin to separate. Run through a colander or coarse sieve

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 131

to remove the seeds. Add the skins to the pulp, cooking till tender. Allow
one-half pound of sugar to each pound of fruit.

Gooseberries with Currant Juice. — The tops and tails being removed
from the gooseberries, allow an equal quantity of finely-pounded loaf sugar
and put a layer of each alternately into a large, deep jar; pour into it as
much dripped red currant juice as will dissolve the sugar, adding its
weight in sugar. The next day put all in a preserving pan, boil it, and
put up as other jams.

Grape I\larmalade. — Choose ripe grapes of any familiar kind, and place
them in the preserving kettle with just enough water to prevent their
burning. Cook slowly at the side of the stove until they are well broken
and mashed. Then press through a sieve and measure the pulp. For
each pint allow half a pound of sugar. Place the grape pulp over the
fire, boil for 20 minutes, add the sugar and boil from 10 to 20 minutes
longer, or until a drop of the mixture when put on a plate will retain its
shape without spreading. Stir constantly while cooking. Skim carefully
from time to time and when done pack in small jars.

Grape and Apple Marmalade. — Many people do not care for the flavor
of the Clinton grape, but it is excellent to use with sweet apples in mar-
malade, following a New England recipe, in which the wild frost grape is
ordinarily used. Heat four pounds of stemmed and pulped grapes until
the seeds are free of pulp. Have four pounds of sweet apples pared, cored,
sliced and steamed until tender. Sift the grape pulp, add the apples, turn
into a kettle set on asbestos mat or back of range and simmer slowly for
two hours; measure, add sugar in the proportion of three-quarters of a.
pound to a pint of pulp, and cook until a little, chilled on ice, shows that
it is stiff enough to retain its shape. Turn into jelly glasses and seal.

Grape Preserves. — Press the pulp out of each grape; boil the pulps
until tender, then press through colander to remove the seeds; mix the
skins with the pulp and juice; add as many cupfuls of sugar as there are
of grapes and boil together until thickened. Green grapes are preserved
by cutting each grape in halves, taking out the seeds, then adding an equal
quantity of sugar and boiling all together until the right consistency; seal
while hot.

Spiced Grapes. — Press the skins from the grapes and put the pulp
through the colander; add the skins and weigh. To every pound of
grapes add one cupful of vinegar, two ounces of powdered cinnamon, one
ounce of powdered cloves and three and a half pounds of sugar; boil an
hour and a half until thick, then bottle. Small Damson plums are very-
nice prepared in the same way.

Marmalades. — One simple process will serve for all kinds of marma-
lade, and that is to cook the fruit in its own juice to a state of collapse.
Then press through a colander, measure, bring to a boil, and skim, before

122 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

adding the sugar — measure for measure. Cook with care after the sugar
scum begins to thicken. When the juice rolls up a jelly on a cold silver
spoon, the marmalade is ready for pint can, or for glasses, covered when
cold with one-fourth inch, at the least, of hot paraffin. All the small fruits
make delicious marmalades when pressed through a fine colander or sieve
to remove the seeds. Grapes and blackberries do not require full measure
for measure of sugar. Plums are easily converted into a palatable mar-
malade after removing the pits, but they are more easily made into pre-
serves, the same as peaches, and quinces ; both are too good for marma-
lades. By the following method clingstone peaches can be utilized, 'also
imperfect pears and quinces. Pare the peaches and cut into pieces as
small as^a cherry, pack into a measuring dish and note the amount. Add
water to prevent burning and cook thoroughly before adding the sugar —
measure for measure. Boil with care the same as for marmalade, and
place in airtight cans.

Pineapple Marmalade. — Use thoroughly ripe pineapples, peel them, and
after removing the hard core, chop them. To each pound of fruit and
juice, add a pound of sugar, and simmer one hour. Frequent skimming
and stirring will be necessary. Cool some of it, and if not thick enough,
continue the boiling half an hour longer. An asbestos cover slipped under
the kettle is a safeguard against scorching. Crab-apple and plum marma-
lade is excellent. Use the Siberian crab-apples and Bradshaw or other
violet red plums. Allow two parts apples to one part plums. Wash the
fruit and cut out the imperfections. Simmer both kinds until soft, then
rub through a sieve. Allow a pound of sugar to each pint of fruit puip.
Put the sugar in the oven to heat, and cook the fruit 20 minutes in a
porcelain-lined or agate kettle. Add the hot sugar, skim, and cook 30
minutes longer. Stir very often.

Peach Marmalade. — Use firm late peaches. Peel the peaches and cut
them in halves. Crack two-thirds of the kernels, blanch them, and cut
into lengthwise strips. Put the peaches over the fire with three-fourths
of a pound of sugar to each pound of fruit. Stir frequently and cook
from 20 minutes to half an hour. Five minutes before removing from
the fire add the blanched kernels.

Quince Marmalade. — Rub the fruit with a cloth, cut out the flower end,
and chop without removing the skins and cores. Cook until soft enough
to rub through a sieve. Strain the fruit and add three-quarters pound of
sugar to a pound of fruit. Cook slowly until done, which should be in
15 or 20 minutes. Apple marmalade affords a change from cider apple
sauce and stewed apples. Take seven pounds of apples (Fall Pippins are
nice) and stew them whh a pint of water. Put them through a sieve,
add three-quarters pound of sugar to a pound of pulp, also the juice
and grated yellow rind of three lemons. Boil half hour, then add a little

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 133

ginger root. This may be made of one-third quince and two-thirds apples,
leaving out the ginger and lemons.

]Mixed }klarmalade. — Take equal quantities of peaches, apples, pears
and quinces that have been pared, cored and cut in eighths. Cook quinces
in water to cover until almost tender. Drain and measure the water.
For six pounds of mixed fruit there should be one pint of water. Add
quinces to the other fruit, place in preserve kettle with water, and let
them cook thoroughly, but not burn. Take out and mash well together.
Measure. Clean the kettle and put them back with half their weight in
granulated sugar. Let ihem cook very slowly two hours. Keep them
stirred well from the bottom and protect with an asbestos mat or set the
kettle in anolher containing boiling water, as on no account must the jam
burn. Seal in small jars.

Orange and Apple Marmalade. — Cut the apples in small pieres with-
out peeling them and add a pint of water for every quart of appK^s. Boil
them down for half an hour and strain through a sieve. Add the juice
and pulp of three oranges and a little of the yellow peel cut fine to every
pmt of apple pulp. To each pint of the mixture, add three-fourths of a
pound of sugar. Boil the marmalade until it curls before the finger when
ii is cooled for trial.

Preserved Melon Rind. — Pare the melon very thin; do not pare away
all the ripened melon. Leave about one-quarter inch attached to the rind.
Cut in pieces and place in a crock over night with salt sprinkled between
the layers. In the morning drain, pour boiling water over, leave for
one-half hour, drain agam. New weigh the fruit — to 10 pounds fruit add
five pounds granulated sugar, one-half gallon white vinegar, one ounce
stick cinnamon, one ounce white ginger root, and one-half ounce whole
cloves. Tie the spice in small muslin bags, place all in a large pan and
boil slowly. The longer it boils the nicer will it be.

Milk, Canning. — A correspondent tells us she has canned milk in this
way and kept it a year: Allow the milk to become perfectly cold, then
fill sterilized fruit jars to within a half inch of the top; put on the
covers loosely and set into a clean boiier en a board with "holes through ;
fill boiler with cold water to within an inch of the tops of the jars ; bring
the water to the boiling point and allow it to boil 20 minutes after ebulli-
tion begins, then remove the cans one by one, put on new rubbers, fill
with boiling milk, screw the covers on and invert the cans till cold. Pit
away in a cool, dark place a.nd use when the cows have dried up. Of
course this will taste like scalded milk, but for all purposes except drink-
ing it is all right. As the cream does not dry, it can readily be mixed
with the milk if desired. If directions are followed carefully and every-
thing used made perfectly clean little or none will spoil. It is quite

134 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

essential to use new rubber rings, as old ones become hard and will not
make the jars tight.

Or-ra-cur. — Five pounds of currants, five pounds of sugar, juice and
grated rinds of three oranges, one pound of raisins, chopped and stoned ;
boil all together for 20 minutes, and put away in jelly glasses.

Peach Butter. — This is a nice way to use up peaches that arc too ripe
for canning or pickling. Pare ripe peaches, put in a kettle with sufficient
water to cover peaches ; when soft run through a colander, the stones
being thus easily removed. To each quart of peaches thus prepared -add
1/4 pound of granulated sugar. Boil slowly till thick; add ground cinna-
mon to taste. This, like all butters and marmalades, requires constant
watching to keep the fruit from burning. •

Spiced Peaches. — Weigh eight pounds of freestone peaches after they
have been peeled, halved and the stones taken out. Put peaches in a por-
celain lined kettle with one pint of vinegar and five pounds of sugar
(granulated). Mix one ounce each of cinnamon sticks, whole mace
and green ginger and one-half ounce of whole cloves. Divide into eight
parts, tie each in a piece of cheesecloth and drop in the kettle with the
peaches. Simmer until the fruit is tender, then lift it with a skimmer
and put it in sterilized jars. Boil the syrup a minute, skim, lift out the
bags, then pour over the fruit in the jars. It is an improvement to break
IS peach stones, blanch the kernels in boiling water and add them to
the syrup just before pouring it into the jars.

Peach Jam. — Pare, stone and cut into thin slices half a peck of free-
stone peaches. Weigh. To each pound of fruit add three-quarters of a
pound of granulated sugar. Put in layers in a preserve kettle and let
them cook gently until clear, which will probably take an hour. Have
ready cracked one-third the peach stones, remove and blanch the kernels,
then slice them thin and sprinkle them among the layers of peaches so ail
can cook together. Put into small glass jars or tumblers when cold.
Shut up air-tight.

Peach Leather. — Pare fully ripe peaches (yellow ones preferred) ;
remove the pits- and weigh. To each pound of fruit add one-fourth pound
of granulated sugar. Put in stew kettle and cook slowly, mashing the
fruit as it boils. When cooked to a thick paste spread on a buttered
board and put in the sun to dry. Put out the second day and when dry
enough that it will not stick, loll up like a roll of leather and keep in a
cool, dry place. Slice from the end of the roll.

Pears in Cider.— One of our friends reports that Kieffer pears are
delicious canned in sweet cider. The customary syrup is made by melt
ing sugar in the cider, and the pears are cooked in this (not over-cooked)
either in the jars or in a kettle. The cider is said to give much richness

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 135

of flavor. Pears were also canned in perry (pear cider), but the result
was not considered so desirable as where the apple juice was used.

Pear Chips. — Four pounds of Duchess or other hard pears sliced thin,
four pounds of sugar, the juice of three lemons and grated rind of one,
one ounce of dry or green ginger root chopped fine and one-half tumbler
of water. Cook until clear, then seal in jelly glasses.

Pear Syrup. — Very nice syrup may be made from pears, core and
pare them; cover with cold water and set on back of stove, let simmer
until soft, then dip off juice carefully or strain through a colander. If
the juice is not clear strain through a fine strainer. Return to the fire
and boil down rapidly to about one-quarter, then add sugar, about as for
jelly, a cupful of sugar to a cupful of juice. Boil until the syrup is thick
as you wish and put in glass jars. This, when properly made, is thought
to be as nice as maple syrup. The flavor may be varied a little by using
a verj-- little lemon juice or green ginger. If desirable, the cooked pears
may be used by boiling them a short time with a little sugar, or with
sugar and vinegar.

Persimmon Figs. — Gather them, and press each fruit between thumb
and finger, and put in layers in an open-mouthed jar with a thin layer of
sugar between the layers of fruit and sugar on the top. After a few
weeks, say three or four, lay on a platter or plate in single layers and
dry in a very cool oven or in the sun.

Canned Plums Without Cooking. — This recipe comes from the plum
belt of central New York, and will be found very satisfactory: Take
enough large yellow egg plums to fill a quart can. Put them into a
granite or earthen pan and pour boiling water over them, let stand three
minutes, then drain. Pour over more boiling water, which will crack
the skins. Remove the skins, and place the plums carefully in a hot
sterilized glass jar. Have ready a thick syrup made by boiling two
cupfuls of granulated sugar that has been moistened with water, and
cooked to the "brittle stage." Pour the boiling syrup over the plums and
seal. The syrup will form like "icicles," but after a day or two will
dissolve. Make enough syrup for two or three cans at once, as it is
hard to tell just how much it will take to fill a can. They always keep
perfectly, and retain their flavor much better than when cooked, but the
secret is in having everything boiling hot.

Plum Cheese. — For economy make this on the same day you make
plum jelly. After extracting the jelly juice .pass the remaining pulp
through a colander to remove skins and pits, then weigh. Add a pound
of sugar to every two pounds of plums and boil one-half an hour; seal up.

Plums in Cold Water. — A housekeeper who has had experience with
the cold-water' process of keeping fruit says she has kept wild plums
all Winter in this way, putting them in a large stone jar and covering

136 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

them with enough cold water to leave about four inches over them. A
saucer or plate with a weight on it must be placed on top of the fruit
to keep the top layers deep enough under the water. To make sauce
from wild plums kept in this way, take cut as many of the fruit as ar^
required, and parboil until the skins crack in water containing a pinch
of baking soda. Then rinse well in clear cold water, drop into boiling
syrup, and cook until done. This makes a delicious sauce; the parboiling
with the soda takes the "pucker" out of the fruit. Cranberries will keep
for months if covered with cold water as described, and m.any house-
keepers put up green currants and gooseberries, also rhubarb, in the same
way.

Plum Conserve. — Five pounds plums, peeled and pitted ; five pounds
sugar; cook plums 20 minutes before adding sugar. Put in sugar and
boil a little, then add two pounds seeded raisins (cut into small pieces),
grated rind of four oranges and the pulp chipped (easier to cut with
scissors). Cook to a thick conserve (15 to 20 minutes), and put in jelly
glasses. Cherries (sour) are good used instead of plums; pit them.
Currants may also be used instead of plums.

Pineapple and Plum Jam. — Twelve pounds of large plums, five krge
pineapples, one quart of warcr and sugar in the proportion of three-
quarters of a pound to every pound of fruit, and one pound to every pint
of water. Peel and pit the plums, add the water, bring to the boiling
point, add the pineapple cut in dice and boil until soft and thick, then
add the sugar and cook three-quarters of an hour longer.

Spiced Plums. — Spiced plums arc the best of relishes with game, poul
try, and mutton. Wash, drain, pick snd weigh the plums, prick the skins
light!}', then pack them down in earthen jars with one-half their own
weigh of sugar. Strew through the fruit while packing plenty of whole
cloves, whole allspice, mace, ginger slightly bruised and stick cinnamon.
Put in also a few whole black peppercorns, and to each jar allot a single
pod of the small red pepper. Take half a pint of cider vinegar for each
pound of fruit, add to it as much sugar as the fruit was packed in, bring
to a boil, skim well and pour over it scalding hot. Let stand 24 hours,
t'len drain off the syrup, boil up, skim and return to the fruit. Do this
three times, then put fruit and syrup together in the kettle, let them boil
five minutes, skimming well, fill jars and cover.

Canned Pumpkin. — This will supply pie material when stored pump-
kins are gone. Cook the. pumpkin and strain it, just as you do for pies,
being careful not to liave much water in it. Fill the can full. Shake
down so as to have them :>olid. Put on the tops, screw down just a
little, so you can lift by them, place in boiler, with something between
the cans and boiler on the bottom, fill to the neck of cans with water
and boil one good hour. Take out and wipe the necks of the cans, and

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 137

it the pumpkin has shrunk away, hll cans up with boiling water, put on
rhigs and screw down the tops tight, and the pumpkin will keep six
months in a good, cool place.

Quince Butter. — Use half a gallon of quinces pared and cored, half
a gallon of tart apples pared and cored, two quarts of sweet cider, one
pint of cold water. Cover the crock and stew gently until the fruit is
very soft; then pass tlirough a sieve. Add five cupfuls of sugar and
cook until soft.

Canned Quinces. — Prepare the quinces by paring, coring and quarter-
ing. Use a silver knife. Keep the prepared quinces in cold water to
prevent them from discoloring until sufficient have been prepared. Cook
the quinces in boi'ing water slowdy till tender. Have ready a syrup of
one-half pound of sugar and a pint of water to each pound of fruit. Put
tlie cocked quinces in the syrup, allowing them to remain five minutes.
Then can and seal while hot.

Quince Honey. — One medium quince and one cupful of granulated
sugar will make one jelly glass of honey. Pare and grate the quinces,
then stir this grated pulp into a boiling syrup made of the sugar and
enough water to dissolve it. Stir slowly and quite often until the pulp
will remain suspended through the syrup. One should not get it too
stiff. Put into jell}^ glasses, and when cool cover in the same way you
do preserves and jellies, and keep in the preserve closet.

Quince Jam. — Take one pint of quince juice left from preserves, add
one pound of sliced apples, three-q-uarters of a pound of sugar; boil two
hours, stirring w^ell ; pour into glasses while hot and seal.

Quince and Pear Sauce. — Three pounds light brown sugar, six pounds
pears, quartered if large, small ones cut in halves; nine pounds quinces,
quartered. Boil sugar, pears i'ud quinces nearly all day, taking care not
to let them cook too rapidly, until both pears and quinces are of a rich
red, and the juice an amber syrup. Can and seal tight. The fruit keeps
its shape, the pears having gained a fine flavor from the quinces, and the
quinces having an added goodness from the pears.

Raisine Bourgogne. — Stem c-.nd seed tw^o pounds of ripe grapes. Boi!
with one cup of water until soft. Press through a sieve and add two
pounds of ripe pears, peeled and sliced; cook until reduced to half the
amount. Weigh and add an equal amount of sugar, stir until the sugar
is dissolved, strain again, put in small earthen jars, set in a plate-warm-
ing oven for a day or until firm to the touch. Tie down and keep in a
cool place.

Raspberry and Currant Bar-le-Duc. — To four pounds of raspberries
add one pound of currants; bruise the currants and strain the juice; add
to it three-quarters of a pound of sugar to each pound of juice, including
♦he weight of the berries left whole. Boil 20 minutes and skim, add the

138 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

raspberries, cook 20 minutes more. When the syrup jellies on a plate,
take off and place in glasses or small jars while hot.

Canned Raspberries. — (Mrs. Mapes's recipe). — First make a syrup by
boiling seven pounds granulated sugar in ^Yi quarts water. Fill cans with
fresh berries, putting in as many as possible without crushing the berries.
Apply covers without the rubbers, and set in a kettle or boiler of cold
water, so the water comes about two-thirds of the height of the cans.
Bring to a boil and cook seven to 10 minutes after boiling begins. Now
take the cans out of the water, remove the covers, fill with hot syrup
brimming full, and seal up tight in the usual way.

Uncooked Canned Rhubarb. — Wash, peel, cut into inch ' cubes and
fill compactly into glass jar, then pour slowly into the jar good fresh
water to overflowing. Adjust rubber, screw on the top and set away in
a cool place until morning. I'hen if there be any air bubbles, tap the
side of the jar, fill again to the brim with water and screw on cover
tightly. If tops and rubbers are perfect the rhubarb will keep until used.

Canned Rhubarb. — Wash it, cut into inch pieces, put in a preserving
kettle, and let it come to a good boil all through, without a particle
of sugar. It will keep perfectly. When you wish to open it for use,
take one cupful of sugar for a pie, and it will be like the fresh pie plant.
For a small family, the pint cans are much better for any fruit.

Rhubarb Jam with Ginger. — String some rhubarb, cut into short
lengths, and weigh. Put into a kettle and add just enough water to pre-
vent burning. When it has become quite soft, add sugar, one pound for
each pound of rhubarb. Stir well until the jam becomes rich and syrup.v.
For each pound take about a teaspoonful of ground ginger, rub it smooth
with a little water, and add it to your jam. Boil up jam again, stirring
well; put into glasses, and when cold cover. If a large amount of rhu-
barb is at command, a high grade of brown sugar is very good; the only
difference seems to be that the jam is not quite so clear.

Rhubarb Jelly. — Make when the rhubarb is tender, using the pink
variety without peeling it, as much of the flavor and all of the color is
in the skin. Cook eight pounds of rhubarb with the yellow part of the
peel from three lemons, in a covered dish, until all the juice of the rhu-
barb is free. Strain, and add all the juice that ca'n be extracted from
the three lemons. Boil half an hour and strain through a bag. To
each cupful of this juice add a cup and a quarter of granulated sugar,
which should be heated before putting into 'the juice. Stir until the
sugar is entirely dissolved, then boil without stirring until it jellies when
tested. A fine jelly which may be made later in the season has three-
fourths of a pound of tart apple's (peeled and cored) cut and cooked
with each pound of rhubarb. Cook until soft and drain through bag

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 139

without pressing. Allow a cup of vinegar to each cup of juice and
proceed as in former recipe.^

Rhubarb and Orange Jam.— To a quart of cut up rhubarb, add half
a dozen oranges, peeled, cut up and with the pits removed, and a pound
and a half of sugar. Boil gently until a little set on a plate will jelly.
This can be varied by slicing the peel of three oranges in thin strips and
adding it to the fruit. This jam will also keep indefinitely in earthen
jars, or jelly glasses which have been sealed with paraffin.

Rhubarb and Pineapple. — The following rule for canning is a decided
improvement upon pineapple alone, and the rhubarb taste disappears.
Chop and cook equal parts of pineapple and rhubarb, and add a cupful
of sugar for each pint jar.

Rhubarb Marmalade. — Peel the rhubarb, and cut into pieces one-half
inch long. Put into a large earthen bowl, and cover with sugar in the
proportion of one pound of sugar to one quart of rhubarb. Allow this to
stand over night, or 15 to IS hours. Be sure that the bowl is amply
large, as there will be a flood of juice by morning. Strain off the juice
and sugar into a preserving kettle; when it begins to boil, add the rhu-
barb. Boil slowly for an hour, or until the preserve assumes a deep
red color, stirring carefully to prevent burning, and removing any scum
that rises to the top. About 15 or 20 minutes before removing from the
fire, peel the yellow rind from one lemon, chop it fine, and add to the
preserve, together with the juice of two lemons, this being our usual
proportion to about four or five quarts of preserve, but the quantity of
lemon may be varied to suit the taste. This gives a piquant flavor other-
wise lacking, in spite of the acidity of the rhubarb. When bottled, keep
in a cool, dark place. This rhubarb jam is very nice in open tarts, or as
a filling for boiled roly puddings.

Rhubarb and Almond Marmalade. — Cut rhubarb up very fine, and to
each cupful add the pulp and juice of one orange, one teaspoonful of the
grated yellow of the rind, one tablespoonful lemon juice and one and one-
half cup of sugar. Let stand until the sugar is dissolved, boil rapidly
until transparent, then add one-half cup of blanched almonds cut in
ihin slices, boil up once and put in glasses.

Hackensack Rhubarb Marmalade.— Cut a. pound and a half of rhubarb
into inch lengths and put it in an earthen dish. Scatter over this a
quarter of a pound of figs and an ounce of candied peel (both cut fine) ;
over all sprinkle a pound and a quarter of sugar and let stand over
night. In the morning boil for about 15 minutes, then add a pound
of either orange or lemon pulp, cut fine, and cook until heavy enough to
be firm when cold. Put in jelly glasses, and when cool cover with paraf-
fin, or any other material used for keeping air from jellies.

Rhubarb and Fig Marmalade.— Three pounds of rhubarb, three pounds

140 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

of sugar, one pound of figs, juice of one lemon and grated rind of half.
Wash the figs and cut fine and put in the bottom of the kettle; cut rhu-
barb into inch cubes and spread evenly over the figs; over the rhubarb
distribute one pound of the sugar and let stand over night. In the morn-
ing cook slowly until it looks clear, then add remainder of sugar and cook
until thick. About fifteen minutes before taking from the stove add
juice and rind of lemon. This quantity will make two quarts of mar-
malade. It can be sealed while hot, or put in jelly glasses and covered
with parafifin.

Rhubarb and Orange Marmalade. — Three pounds of rhubarb, four
and one-half pounds of sugar, three oranges, the grated rind of one
orange. After grating the yellow from one orange, remove the peel
from all three and cut in small pieces. Cut the rhubarb in inch cubes,
mix with one and one-half pounds of sugar and the oranges and let
stand twenty-four hours. Cock until it looks clear, then heat the re-
maining three pounds of sugar, add, and cook until thick.

Rhubarb and Raisin Marmalade. — Four pounds rhubarb, four oranges,
juice of ail, peel of two; four pounds sugar, one lemon, two pounds of
raisins. Peel and cut the rhubarb into half-inch pieces., Prepare the
oranges by squeezing out juice and cooking the peel in water till tender.
Drain and scrape out white skin. Extract. the juice of the lemon. Put
the rhubarb into a granite preserving kettle, heat it slowly to boiling,
cook fifteen minutes, then add the sugar, orange juice and peel, lemon
juice and raisins, and cook slowly until thick.

Spiced Rhubarb. — Peel and slice 2^ pounds of rhubarb; sprinkle a
potmd of sugar over it and let stand until morning. Drain off the syrup
and add one cup of sugar and half a cupful each of vinegar and water.
Drop into this syrup small bags filled with a mixture composed of one
third of a teaspoonful each of cloves, mace, allspice and ginger, and a
teaspoonful of cinnamon. Boil until the syrup begins to thicken, then
take out the bags and add the rhubarb and cook until clear.

Canned Strawberries. — To can strawberries so that they will keep
their shape and color, after the berries are picked over, put them in .t
jar, with a layer of sugar and then of berries until all are used. Set
them in the cellar over night, and the sugar will penetrate them, and no
water must be added: there will be sufficient juice. Have a sugar syrup
on the stove hot, put the strawberries in and let them boil up gently;
llien fill cans with the fruit and juice all cooked together. Screw on
the cover, stand the can upside down a few minutes, then turn again,
changing it in this way until it is cool, and the berries will not rise to
the top. This way preserves the shape, color, and flavor of the fruit.

Canned Strawberries, No. 2. — An excellent way to can strawberries,
raspberries or any fruit that requires little or no cooking is the follow-

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 141

ing : Prepare fruit carefully, discarding all blemished or imperfect berries.
Prepare a syrup of one quart of water boiled, one cupful of sugar. More
or less sugar may be added according to the taste of family and the
acidity of the fruit to be canned. Have jars thoroughly sterilized as
above, fill with the prepared fruit, pour over the syrup until it is filled to
the brim. Screw on cap after adjusting rubber. Place jars in a stone
crock with thin strips of board or a cloth under them and pour around
them enough boiling water to fill crock up to the rubbers on jars. Cover
with blankets, carpets, etc., to exclude air, and leave over night or until
the water is cold. Canned in this way soft fruits keep both shape and
color, and very nearly resemble fresh fruit. Fruits that lose color, such
a?, strawberries or red raspberries, should have paper bags or pasteboard
boxes slipped over them to exclude the light.

Canned Strawberries, No. 3. — Fill a quart jar with large, ripe berries,
from which the hulls have been taken; fill the jar with cold water; then
pour It out again into a measure. For every twelve jars to be put up
use thirteen of these measures of water and in it dissolve six pounds of
sugar. Pack the jar with berries as closely as possible without mashing
them. Fill each jar up to the shoulder with syrup, cover loosely with
the lid and set it in a large boiler, which should have a loosely fitting
v/ooden bottom pierced with holes. If set on the metal bottom the jars
are liable to crack. Wlieii tiie boiler is full of jars pour in cold water
up to their shoulders ; cover it and set it on the fire. At the same time
put the surplus syrup in a saucepan and allow it to become hot. As soon
as the water in the boiler begins to boil note the time, and when it has
boiled for eight minutes remove the boiler from the fire. Take out one
jar at a time, fill it even with the hot syrup in the saucepan, fasten it
airtight and stand it back in the boiler until all are filled and covered;
lei. them stand there until cold, and then store in a cool place.

Uncooked Canned Strawberries. — A correspondent of the Chicago
Record-Herald says that she has preserved strawberries and red raspber-
lies without cooking for years with entire success. Her method is as fol-
lows : Mash together with a silver fork equal quantities of fruit and sugar.
Let stand for. an hour or more until the sugar is entirely dissolved.
Then put into jelly glasses or pint jars, filling to the brim. Leave un-
covered for 48 hours in an open window exposed to the sun. Then seal
in the usual way and keep in a cool, dark place. The flavor of the ber-
ries is as when picked, and the jam is rich and delicious. All utensils
used must be absolutely clean and jars sterilized.

Dried Strawberries. — One quart of strawberries, clean off the stem and
hull. Wash; add one pound of granulated sugar, put in a porcelain
or granite kettle, set on stove, and heat gently till they come to a boiling
point, then boil hard for 20 minutes. Do not stir, just shake the kettle

14« THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

enongh to keep from burning, then pour out on large plates, and dry
in the sun for at least three days, or until the juice has become jellied;
't may take a longer time or a little less according to heat of sun. Do
not let them stay out of doors over night, as the dew will cause the
juice to get thin again. When the juice has become jellied, pack in jars
and make airtight. These are most delicious and very delicate in flavor;
the berries are whole and clear.

Strawberry and Currant Jam. — To every pound of fruit allow three-
quarters of a pound of sugar, also one pint of red currant juice to every
four pounds of the berries. Boil the currant juice with the strawberries
for half an hour, stirring all the time, then add the sugar and boil 20
minutes longer, skimming carefully. Put in small jars or tumblers with
paraffin on top. The currant juice may be omitted.

Wiesbaden Strawberries. — Take six pounds of strawberries — they need
not be large or extra fine, but they must be sound; add to them in the
kettle a very little cold water and cook slowly as for jelly. Pour in a
jelly bag and allow them to drip overnight. In the morning add to the
juice six pounds of broken loaf or granulated sugar and half a pound
of strained honey. Boil to a very thick syrup Fill pint cans with freshly
capped strawberries, the largest and finest to be had. Screw on the tops,
set in cold water in a large kettle — the wash boiler will do — and let the
water come to a boil. Open the jars and fill to the brim with the
hot syrup. Seal and put away in a cool, dark place.

Tomato Butter. — Cook ripe tomatoes, salt to taste and put them
through a colander to remove the seeds. Plave ready an equal quantity
of sour apple sauce, well cooked; add it to the tomatoes, sweeten slightly
and let it boil until the mixture begins to thicken. Be careful that it does
not burn. Seal in jelly glasses. Excellent to serve with meats.

Tomato Butter No. 2. — Seven pounds of large, ripe tomatoes, four
pounds of brown sugar, half a cupful of vinegar, one teaspoonful of
cmnamon, one teaspoonful of cloves. Pour boiling water over the toma-
toes; let stand five minutes, then the skins can be rubbed off. Remove
stem end, then slice tomatoes. Cook until soft, add the sugar and stew
until very thick; then add spices and vinegar. Let simmer 20 minutes,
pour into jars and seal.

Tomato and Apple Butter. — Scald and skin ripe tomatoes, add a
quarter of the quantity of pared, cored and quartered pleasant sour
apples. Weigh the kettle, put in the tomatoes and apples and cook to the
consistency of marmalade, then to every six pounds add a teaspoonful of
ginger, the juice of a large lemon and four pounds of light brown sugar;
boil fifteen minutes, or until it will spread smoothly.

Green Tomato Butter. — Select tomatoes that are full grown, but quite
green. Slice them thin. Make a syrup in proportion of one pound of

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 143

sugar to two pounds of tomatoes. Boil down slowly for four hours or
until the butter is smooth and thick, stirring frequently to prevent stick-
ing. Flavor with lemon when done.

Green Tomato Conserve. — For one peck of green tomatoes, slice six
lemons without removing the skin, but taking out the seeds. Put to this
quantity six pounds of sugar and boil until transparent and the syrup
thick. Ginger root may be added if liked.

Tomato Jam. — Select sound, ripe fruit and peel and quarter them.
Then put them into the preserving kettle with an equal weight of loaf
sugar, the strained juice and rind of a lemon for every four pounds of
the fruit, and a little powdered ginger. Cook the mixture slowly until
it jellies when tried en a spoon. Turn into jars and cover.

Tomato Marmalade. — Remove the skin from four quarts of ripe
tomatoes and slice. Cut six large lemons in halves, lengthwise, and slice
very thin. Seed one cup of raisins. Put the tomatoes, raisins and
lemons into a preserving kettle, in layers, alternating with four pounds
of granulated sugar. Cook one hour on the front of stove. Then set
the kettle back, and allow contents to simmer until it is of the consistency
of marmalade. Put up, while hot, as jelly. This recipe makes about
two and one-half quarts. When properly prepared no one article will be
recognizable. The small yellow tomatoes are nice for such use.

Tomato Marmalade No. 2.— -For every two pounds of the tomatoes
allow two pounds of sugar and the juice and grated rind of one lemon.
Pour scalding water over the tomatoes to loosen the skins. After remov-
ing the skin, mix the tomatoes with the sugar and boil slowly for one
hour, stirring and skimming frequently. At the end of that time add
the lemon juice and rind and cook another hour or until the whole is
a thick, smooth mass.

Tomato Mock-Orange Marmalade. — Scald and peel large-sized yellow
tomatoes. Cut downward over each seed section, press open and remove
all seeds with the thumb, leaving the pulp comparatively whole. To two
parts of the prepared tomatoes allow one part of oranges, slicing thinly.
Cover all with an equal quantity of sugar and let stand over night. In
the morning pour off syrup and cook down about half, add the tomatoes
and oranges and cook until the orange skins are transparent. Seal in
jelly glasses. This is an original recipe, and is a delightful substitute
for the genuine orange marmalade, though much cheaper.

Tomato Mincemeat. — Chop fine four quarts of green tomatoes, drain
off juice, cover with cold water and bring to a boil, scalding for 30
minutes, then drain. Repeat till parboiled three times. Add two pounds
brown sugar, one pound seeded raisins, one-half pound chopped citron,
one large half cup chopped suet, one tablespoonful salt and one-half cup

144 TM1£ RVkAL COOK BOOK.

strong vinegar. Mix and cook until thick. When cold add one tea-
spoonful each of ground cinnamon and cloves, and one tablespoonful of
grated nutmeg (or suit taste). ]\Iix thoroughly, and keep in open jar.

Tomato Clove Preserves. — To four pounds of yellov^r plum tomatoes,
not too ripe, allow four pounds of sugar, three lemons and one-half
ounce (or according to taste) of whole cloves. Peel the tomatoes with-
out breaking, sprinkle sugar over and let them stand over night. In the
morning pour off the syrup, add the cloves and let it boil until thick, then
strain. Return to fire and add the chopped pulp of the lemons, rejecting
the skin, and the tomatoes, and cook gently until the tomatoes look clear.
Put into jars and seal. To give a quite different flavor substitute one-
half ounce of ginger root for the cloves, and proceed as above.

Green Tomato Preserves. — Required, eight pounds of small green
tomatoes, seven pounds of sugar, one ounce of ginger and mace mixed,
and the juice of four lemons. Pierce each of the tomatoes with a fork
and put them in the preserving kettle with all the other ingredients. Heat
slowly, then boil until the tomatoes are clear, then skim them out and boil
the syrup until thick. Put tlie tomatoes into jars and pour in the
hot syrup.

Yellow Tomato Preserves. — Put the tomatoes into a wire basket and
plunge into boiling water to loosen the skins. When a cut is made across
the skin its whole contents can be quickly squeezed out. Three-fourths
of a pound of sugar is allowed for each pound of the fruit pulp, and
sometimes ginger root is added for flavoring. Prolonged cooking is not
necessary; just before ready for the jars add several lemons sliced in
thin even circles.

Ruby Watermelon Preserves. — Dice the red portion of the melon,
removing all seeds and every bit of the white part; weigh and use halt
as much sugar as you have melon, adding to every six pounds of melon
the juice and grated yellow rinds of two lemons. Put all together in a
large granite kettle and boil slowly, stirring often until it is quite thick;
at first you will think it is all going to water, but very soon you will
notice it thicken nicely; when it has become as thick as you like it, seal
hot in glass pint jars.

JELLIES.

Jelly should never be stored in a cellar. It demands a cool, dry, dark
place, which can be well ventilated, to insure its keeping perfectly. Great
care must be given the juice, sugar, etc. The glasses should be hot, dry
and clean (surgically clean, we mean). Small tapering cups or bowls

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 145

make jelly a nicer shape to turn out to serve, but the regulation jelly glass
with its tin top comes much cheaper.

A safe rule with all fruits that do not get firm is to add sufficient sour
apple juice to make the jelly the right consistency. By choosing a bright
day, boiling the juice 20 minutes before adding the sugar and going strictly
according to directions even an amateur can have success. The best
jellies are not boiled as hard as wanted but sunned under glass for
several days.

For filling the glasses, use a china cup with a handle. A saucer or
small plate held in the left hand and moved with and iinder the cup will
catch all drops. In case you do not fill a tumbler full from the first dip
add the requisite quantity immediately afterward, so that all will stiffen
together, otherwise there may be separation in the contents of the tumbler
when it is turned out. As a general rule for jelly, wash and drain the
fruit, then put it on the stove in a large stone crock, or in a granite
vessel. The fruit should be mature, but not overripe. Add no water
to small and juicy fruits. Large fruits, such as apples, peaches and pears,
require some water ; our rule is to put the fruit in the crock, and pour in
enough water to show at the top. Cook slowly, but thoroughly, stirring
the fruit, which will thus be sufficiently mashed. Strain through a flannel
bag, which should be scalded first, or through a stout cotton or linen; the
fiannel insures clearness, but we have no trouble with this when properly
boiled, nor do we add white of egg, as some cooks recommend. Most
people advise letting the fruit drain over night, and boiling the next day,
but we think it jellies better if the fruit is cooked, drained, and the juice
boiled the same day. The bag is of course hung over a large china bowl,
and pressed down a little with a wooden spoon ; its own weight, however,
soon drains it dry. The juice is measured, and put on to boil ; granulated
sugar is measured, cup for cup, and put in a bowl on the back of the
stove, wliere it is heated, being stirred from time to time, so that by the
time the juice boils it is well heated through. Any scum that arises is
skimmed off, and as soon as the juice comes to a boil the warmed sugar
is stirred in. Continue to skim it as needed, and notice when it comes
to a boil. Currant jelly made in this way will only need three minutes'
boiling; other small fruits a little longer; they should be tested in a little
cup. If boiled too long jelly becomes ropy. If boiled too hard, so that
sugar crystallizes on the sides of the kettle, which is stirred in afterwards,
the jelly may candy. In making jelly from fruit to which water has been
added, as crab apple, it is measured, and three-quarters the amount of
sugar put to heat. When put i:i the kettle, the depth of juice is measured
with a stick, on which are two notches, one for the original depth, and
one for two-thirds the amount. As soon as the juice has boiled down
one-third add the warmed sugar, and boil.

14« THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Apple Jelly.—We like Fall Pippins fof this purpose, but Gravenstein
or any other highly-flavored apple, nearly ripe, makes a fine jelly. The
jelly is excellent without any additional flavoring, but we prefer to add
Rose geranium leaves, which render it delicious ; four leaves to a quart
of jelly. The leaves are put in with the sugar, and taken out when the
jelly is put in glasses. Another variation is made by using three whole
cloves to a quart of jelly; this imitates the nutmeg jelly made in Trinidad,
the spiciness being so faint that it does not overpower the fruit flavor.
To prepare apples for jelly, wipe them with a damp cloth, remove the
stem and blossom ends and cut in quarters. Put in granite or porcelain-
lined preserve kettle, and for three pounds of apples add one pint of
water. Cover and cook slowly until apples are soft; mash, then drain
through a coarse sieve. Do not squeeze, or jelly will be cloudy. Next
allow juice to drip through a double thickness of cheesecloth or flannel
jelly bag. Or they may be turned directly into jelly bag and allowed to
drip over night. Measure juice, boil 20 minutes, and add an equal quan-
tity of heated granulated sugar, boil five minutes, skim and turn into
glasses that have been dipped into scalding water and placed on a wet
cloth. Put a silver spoon in the tumbler before turning the jelly in as
another means of avoiding cracking the glass; it can be moved from
tumbler to tumbler as you proceed. Fill brimming full, as the jelly will
shrink as it cools. The glasses may now be placed in a sunny window,
protected from dust, and let stand for 24 hours. Cover with melted
paraffin, poured directly on to the jelly; then seal as usual.

Apple Combination. — A housewife who has tried it says that a deli-
cious combination jelly is made by cooking a half peck each of apples
and quinces and a quart of cranberries together until soft, after barely
covering with water. Strain, and to every pint of juice allow a scant pint
of sugar, then proceed as with other jellies. It is delicately flavored, and
a beautiful pink in color.

Barberry Jell3^ — For domestic use the berries should not be gathered
until well frosted. For jelly the fruit need not be stripped from the stems.
Put the fruit in a porcelain kettle with water to come to the top of the
berries and boil until thoroughly cooked, then put into a jelly bag and
drain out the juice; return the juice to the kettle and boil hard 15 minutes.
Measure it before boiling down. Add a pound of sugar to each pint and
boil rapidly 10 minutes, then put away in glasses. This is an excellent
jelly to serve with meat.

Blackberry Jelly. — Make the same as currant -jelly.

Crab-apple Jelly. — Wash, cut in pieces two gallons of crab apples;
place in the preserving kettle, just cover with cold water and cook until
the pieces are tender. Drain through cheesecloth, measure, and when
the juice has boiled 10 minutes, stir in one pound white sugar to each

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. UT

pint of juice. Boil hard until it is jelly; about 10 minutes' boiling after
the sugar has been added. Now take the tender pieces left after straining,
rub through a sieve or colander ; to each pint of pulp add one-half as
much sugar. Cook until the sugar is thoroughly blended with the pulp,
stirring quite frequently. Add spices if preferred, fill into glass cans, seal,
and take to the cellar when cool. This makes a delicious butter, almost
a marmalade, and is very nice in the Winter with pork. Two gallons of
crab apples will make six glasses of jelly and five or six quarts of butter
with the addition of 11 pounds of sugar. Crab apple will mix well with
wild grapes for jell3^ The two fruits should be cooked together, and
made like any other jelly. The proportion may be whatever is most
convenient; half and half, or one-third grapes to two-thirds apples, will
be found excellent.

Wild Crab-apple Jelly. — Cook the cored crabs till tender and drip in a
jelly bag. Use more sugar than for ordinary jelly — about five cups of
sugar to four of juice — and cook quickly. This is delicious both in
color and flavor.

Mrs. C.'s Currant Jelly. — The currants are picked over as if for
canning, then put in the preserving kettle. As the fruit heats, it is mashed
with a large spoon until juice is pretty nearly all extracted. The juice
is all dipped off and her jelly is made according to the common recipe.
She now adds to the currants left in kettle an equal amount of raspber-
ries— either black or red is added, and jam is made by the addition of
diree-fourths of a pound of granulated sugar to each pound of fruit.
In this way she says jelly making is an easy task, and she also has the
consciousness of having used every bit of the currants.

Elderberry Jelly. — Strip the ripe berries into the kettle and stir over
the fire with a wooden spoon until the juice flows freely; turn into a
jelly bag and let drain without touching so as not to become cloudy.
Weigh and boil sharply 15 minutes. Remove from fire and add sugar,
allowing 14 ounces to one pint of juice. Boil 15 minutes, stirring and
skimming until it jellies. This is an English recipe and a very good one.

Elderberry Jelly No. 2. — Take equal parts of elderberries and wild
grapes, and cook to extract juice, strain, add sugar in proportion of one
pound to each pint of liquid, and cook as other jelly. This is especially
nice for invalids, and beneficial in cases of sore throat.

Grape Jelly. — The wild grapes gathered just as they begin to turn are
the best for jelly. Free them from their stems and wash them, mash
them, and heat slowly; cook them until the juice is well drawn out; turn
into a flannel bag and let it drip without pressure; measure the juice, and,
if cultivated grapes are used, allow an equal amount of sugar; if the wild
grape, allow a little more than an equal measure. Heat the sugar (put in
a pan in the oven and stir often) ; boil the strained juice 15 minutes; skim

148 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

and strain again, add the sugar, boil until the surface looks wrinkled, skim
well and turn into glasses.

Green Grape Jelly. — Select the grapes when full grown, just before
they begin to turn purple. After separating from the stem, wash, adding
a little water if the grapes are not very juicy. IMash and stew until the
skins are cooked. Strain first through the colander, then through the jelly
bag. Measure the juice, measure the same amount of sugar, putting it in
the oven while the juice is being boiled. The boiling will take half an
hour. Now add the hot sugar, which you must be careful not to scorch,
boil about five minutes longer, and then the jelly should be ready to pour
in glasses. Jelly made from the green grapes is solid, of a delicious flavor
and of a pretty green tint.

Spiced Grape Jelly. — This is delicious served with cold meats. Take
equal amounts of grape juice and sugar. Add one-half teaspoonful of
ground cloves and one tablespoonful of cinnamon to each quart of juice.
Add the sugar as directed in recipe above.

IMarble Jelly. — A dark jelly, such as blackberry or grape, is poured into
a half-gallon crock; as soon as this hardens a light jelly, apple, quin.:e or
pear, is poured on top ; so on in alternate layers until the crock is filled.
The layers look prettiest when but an inch thick. Slice in half-inch slices,
serve on a pretty glass dish. Besides being unique in appearance the
blending of flavors is decidedly appetizing.

Peach Jelly. — Take sound, high-flavored, barely ripe peaches. Wash
them thoroughly. Use the parings and a few pieces of fruit. Boil in
enough water to cover in an enameled kettle until the skins are tender
and broken. Strain through a jelly bag. Allow the juice of one lemon
and one scant pound of sugar to each pint of juice. Boil the juice twenty
minutes after straining, and m.eantime heat the sugar in the oven. Put
the sugar into the juice slowly, let boil five minutes and pour into tumblers.

Peach Jelly No, 2. — Take the peach parings from a peck or two of
peaches and simmer with sour apples till the whole mass is tender. Have
twice the quantity of peach that you have of apple and make your jelly
in the ordinary way.

Pear Jelly. — Select juicy pears that are not top ripe, quarter, core and
cut in small pieces without paring. Put in a kettle' with one pint of
water to every four pounds of pears. Cook over a slow fire to a pulp,
turn into a jelly bag which has been wrung out, and let drip without
squeezing. Measure the juice and allow the same quantity of sugar. Put
the liquid over the fire, bring to the boiling point and boil 20 minutes. In
the meantime heat the sugar by spreading it out on pans and setting it in
an open oven; when the pear juice has boiled twenty minutes add the
heated sugar, stir until it is dissolved, bring again to the boiling point,
and boil until in dropping a spoonful on a cold saucer a skin forms

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 1-19

quickly over it; this will generally occur after five or ten minutes' boiling.
Take from the fire and pour into jelly glasses. Let stand until cold, pour
over the top of each glass a little melted paraffin, and when it hardens
cover.

Plum Jelly. — Pour boiling water over one-half peck of plums placed
in a colander. Then put them in a preserving kettle, pour over them just
enough water to cover and boil until the plums have become soft and
the juice has flowed out. Drain through a colander, then through a jelly
bag without squeezing. Measure juice and put to boil in preserve kettle.
Add one dozen blanched plum kernels. Allow an equal measure of
granulated sugar and put it to heat in shallow pans in the oven. When
the juice has boiled 20 minutes skim well, add the hot sug.ir, stir until
dissolved, let come to the boiling point, take immediately from the fire
and fill into glasses which have been rolled in boiling water, drained and
stood upright on a cloth folded in a shallow pan of boiling water. Use
a small teacup to dip the jelly into the tumblers, and fill them very full.
Cover airtight next day. The pulp remaining may be used to make a
little marmalade, allowing three-quarters of a pint of sugar to one pint
of pulp, and a few blanched kernels from the plum stones.

Plum and Green Grape Jelly. — Plums mixed with green grapes make
the most delicious of all tart jellies. Small yellow plums are the best.
Wash, pick and scald them with their own bulk of green grapes picked
from the stem, strain out the juice, let it settle 10 minutes, then pour it
carefully off the sediment. Put in a shallow kettle over a quick fire, boil
for five minutes, skimming well; then add for each pint of juice a pound
and a quarter of very hot granulated sugar ; stir hard until the sugar
dissolves; then skim again and boil hard for two minutes. Drop a little
in ice water — the minute this hardens take it off the fire and pour into
hot glasses.

Plum and Peach.— Japan plums not quite ripe, with a few peaches,
make a nice clear amber jelly.

Quince Jelly. — Simmer the quinces in a stone jar till tender in enough
water to cover them. Drip and strain the juice and boil 20 minutes before
adding an almost equal amount of sugar. This will be a beautiful color
if well made and have a delicate flavor.

Quince Jelly No. 2. — Place the parings and cores left from preserving
in the preserving kettle, cover with cold water and cook until the parings
are soft ; strain through cheesecloth, measure, and when boiling hard, put
a pound of white sugar to each pint of the juice. Boil hard until it will
set. Ten minutes of hard boiling is usually enough; then pour into
glasses.

Quince and Cranberry. — Stew cores and skins of quinces in very little
water, and strain the juice as for quince jelly; stew tart cranberries

150 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

separately in very little water, strain, and combine with an equal propor-
tion of quince juice. Add to the combined juices one cupful of sugar to
each cupful of juice, and boil briskly until it jellies.

Raspberry Jelly. — One of our friends tells us with pride that she made
delicious stiff raspberry jelly last year by mixing the red raspberries with
an equal quantity of green grapes. The two fruits were cooked together,
then strained as usual. The resulting jelly was clear red, with full rasp-
berry flavor. Our friend had never been able to make raspberries "jell"
properly before, so she was much pleased with the experiment. It is
quite possible that green grapes would stiffen strawberry jelly, which is
usually difficult to harden. Some experimenters say they mix either red
currants or early apples with strawberries to make jelly. If raspberries
and Summer apples are available at the same time, a combination of the
two will make an excellent jelly. Cook and strain separately, then mix
the juice, and proceed as with any other jelly. Raspberry and red cur-
rants mixed are excellent.

Rhubarb Jelly. — On account of the watery'- consistency of the fruit it
cannot be made into jelly as readily as most fruit. A fine jelly and one
specially suitable for serving with game can be made if the following
directions are observed: Let the rhubarb heat on the back of the stove
until the juice flows freely. Strain the juice through a jelly bag. Do not
squeeze the bag into .the jelly, but use only what will drip of itself. The
bag can be squeezed into a different vessel, and the liquid thus gained can
be re-added to the pulp of the rhubarb and made into jam. Take the
rhubarb juice and boil gently for 10 minutes. Measure and to each pint
allow a pound of granulated sugar. Boil until a little poured out on a
cold plate will set nicely. Do not measure the juice before it has been
boiled. Such treatment is needed to reduce the water and make the pure
juice and sugar jelly properly. If care is taken in the boiling of the
jelly, it turns out a pretty color and is very desirable for garnishing
various dishes.

Rhubarb Jelly No. 2. — ^Cut off the leaves and ends from the stalks,
and wipe with a clean, damp cloth. Use an earthen dish for cooking.
Without removing the skins, cut the rhubarb into pieces 2^ inches long,
and put over them IJ^ cupful of sugar, a piece of leifion peel, and a pint
of water, this proportion to two pounds of rhubarb. Cover and set in
the oven on a shelf. Moisten a half ounce of white gelatine in a quarter
of a cupful of cold water. When the rhubarb rs tender put the gelatine
in a large bowl, on which an earthen colander is placed. Pour the
rhubarb on this, but remove it very soon to a dish, in order to retain
sufficient juice with it. Stir the hot liquid underneath, and when the
gelatine is dissolved pour into teacups or molds dipped in cold water.

Strawberry Jelly. — To 10 quarts of strawberries add two quarts of

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 161

currants, and proceed as for currant jelly, but boil 15 minutes. Or
use apple juice instead of currants.

Tomato Jelly. — Simmer yellow tomatoes without water till pulpy and
then drip in a bag. Take equal parts of tomato and apple juice and
proceed in the ordinary way.

Watermelon Jelly. — Alash the heart of a dead-ripe melon and strain
the juice so obtained. Boil to a thick syrup with equal parts of granu-
lated sugar and add to apple juice; then proceed as for apple jelly.

We always pour melted paraffin over the top of our jelly before
putting the cover on. Break the paraffin in pieces, put in a cup, and set
the cup in a pan of warm water on the back of the stove; it will soon
melt enough to pour. It should be one-fourth inch thick over the jelly;
if too thin it cracks. If you heive reason to fear mold, cut disks of white
paper to fit the top of the glass; dip in brandy or grain alcohol, and pour
the paraffin over this. If the room or closet in which jelly is stored is
damp, Prof. Conn recommends setting a few lumps of unslaked lime about
on the shcives, removing when they crumble.

CANDIED FRUITS.

Cherries. — Get large, sound cherries and cut off the stem to avoid tear-
ing the fruit. Wipe with a soft cloth. Weigh the cherries and then
weigh out an equal amount of fine sugar. Sprinkle a little sugar over the
cherries and let them stand over night. With the rest of the sugar make a
thick syrup and let that stand over night. In the morning bring the syrup
to boiling heat; put the cherries in and boil for five minutes. Let them
stand together for 24 hours, drain off the syrup and boil long enough to
get rid of the juice from the cherries (until a thick syrup as it was at
first) and pour over the cherries. The next morning drain oft' the syrup
and boil to candy degree. Dip each cherry in this and put on a sieve, in
a warm place to dry. When perfectly dry pack in glass, or in boxes with,
waxed paper between layers.

Oranges. — Peel the oranges and separate the sections without breaking
the white skin that covers them. Place on plates and keep where it is
warm until dry. Make a syrup with granulated sugar ; boil until it will
thread and then add two tablespoonfuls of vinegar for each pound of
sugar used. Boil until it begins to turn straw-colored. The instant this
change of color shows lift the pan and set it in a pan of boiling water.
Now take the sections of orange on a greased fork; dip them carefully
in the syrup, and drop on waxed paper to dry. Lay the orange on the
fork, never stick the fork through the skin. If the syrup begins to harden
it may be heated again. Don't stir the syrup at any stage of the work,

152 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

and when dipping the orange do it gently, or the syrup will be spoiled, and
for this reason it is not advisable to use more than a pound of sugar at
one time.

Peaches. — Pare and halve enough large peaches to weigh two pounds.
Make a syrup with one-haif a pound of sugar and a cup of water by
boiling together for five minutes. Drop the fruit in and cook gently until
tender, then drain out and spread on plates. Boil the syrup until fairly
thick and pour over the fruit. Place the plates in a warm oven ; turn the
fruit over frequently until dry. Roll each piece in granulated sugar and
put in hot sunshine. Let stand in sun an hour or two. When cooled
pack in layers between waxed paper.

Pineapple. — Get the finest fruit to be had ; pare and cut into the thin-
nest possible slices. Weigh, and allow a pound of sugar to each pound of
fruit. Spread sliced fruit on platters and sprinkle the sugar over it. Keep
in a warm place for a week — or until dry — then put in a hot oven for 10
minutes. When cold, pack between waxed papers.

Quinces. — Boil fruit until tender in as little water as possible (may
be steamed) and put through a sieve. Weigh the sifted fruit and to each
pound of fruit allow a pound of sugar. Put fruit and sugar together
and boil until very thick. Spread on plates ; dry in oven or sun ; cut in
bars; roll in sugar; dry again, and pack like the others described, or wrap
each bar in waxed paper. Tin boxes are fine for packing away these
fruits, but small tin pails will serve the purpose equally well. Glass cans
are good so far as keeping quality goes, but are not so easy to use.

CANNING VEGETABLES.

Vegetables for canning should be fresh gathered, and of the highest
quality, just in the right condition for eating.

Asparagus. — Straight-sided quart glass jars, such as the "Royal," should
be used for asparagus, so as to avoid breaking the stalks. Wash care-
fully, cut the right length to stand the whole stalk upright in the jar
and pack in snugly, heads up; then pour in cold water slowly, until the
jar is full to overflowing, and lay on the tops. Place straw or boards in
the bottom of the wash-boiler, stand the jars on this, and pour in enough
cold water to come half way up the jars; put the boilerover the fire, and
when the v/ater comes to a boil, boil steadily, for three hours. Take up
the jars, see that they are full to overflowing (if not fill up with boiling
water) put on rubbers and screw or otherwise fasten the covers tight.
Keep in a cool, dark place. Another recipe recommends boiling the
asparagus for 15 minutes, then putting in the jar, and boiling in the
wash-boiler for 1^ hour, but we think some of the stalks are very
likely to be broken by this method.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 153

..Beans. — String beans are cut in lengths, boiled for 10 minutes, then
put into cans, which are stood in a kettle of water and boiled for two
hours. Add a teaspoonful of salt, fill the jar to overflowing with boiling
water, screw up, and keep in a cool dark place. Another plan is as
follows : Wash and break each pod in two or three pieces, put on the
stove in a saucepan of cold salt water and when it just commences to
bubble (don't let it boil) drain the beans out and put in cans that have
been washed and scalded. Have ready another saucepan of boiling salt
water and fill the cans nearly to the brim, leaving just room enough for
one tablespoonful of hot vinegar, screw on the caps and set away. When
wanted for use pour off the brine and put in a saucepan of fresh water
with a pinch of soda added ; let them come to a boil and immediately
pour off the water, then cook as you would fresh beans.

Dried String Beans. — When fit for the table pick and prepare them
by removing the strings and breaking up into inch pieces ; put into a
kettle of cold water and then bring to a scalding heat. Skim out, spread
on plates and dry in the oven or out of doors until all moisture is
removed. Put away in bags until snow flies, then take out a quart and
soak in cold water over night. Next morning boil with a good-sized
piece of sweet salt pork until tender.

Beets. — Young beets are delicious canned ; cook until tender in salted
water the same as for table use. Cut in thin slices, fill the cans and cover
v>'ith hot vinegar, sweetened and spiced, seal.

Cauliflower. — Cauliflower may be canned either in vinegar or water.
Break into flowerets and cook until tender in a small quantity of water,
pack the cans as full as possible, add the salt, and fill to overflowing with
hot liquor in which it was cooked, seal. When vinegar is used, steam the
cauliflower until tender, fill into cans and pour over hot vinegar, sweet-
ened and soiced.

Corn. — For canned corn cut the kernels off the cob with a sharp
knife, scraping out the pulp. Fill into the can a little at a time, pressing
it down firmly until the milk overflows the can. Add a teaspoonful of
salt. When all are filled place the cans in a boiler and cook half an
hour' with the covers laid loosely on. Remove from the fire and seal,
then cook two hours longer. The preliminary cooking permits the corn
to swell without endangering the cans, which may burst if tightly sealed
from the first. Succotash is canned by first half filling the cans with
green Lima beans, then filling the remainder of the can with corn,
pressed down firmly. Add a teaspoonful of salt to each can, and cook
like corn.

Salted Corn. — This recipe has been highly endorsed by readers who
have tried it. Have corn "just right" for eating. While it may be
brought from the field the previous evening it should not be prepared

154 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

otherwise until the following mornings, as there is danger of its souring.
Clean and scald your boiler thoroughly and fill with the corn properly
husked and silked, discarding all ears either over or under ripe. Cook
as for the table. Removing from the boiler, score each row of kernels
with a sharp knife and shave off not too close to the cob. After cutting
from cob, measure and to each eight pints of corn add one pint of salt
and mix thoroughly with the hands until a brine is formed. Have ready
a well-scalded and clean crock and pack corn in this as it is mixed.
When jar is filled within one inch of top, cover with a clean white cloth
large enough to hang over edge of crock. On this cloth put about an
inch of salt, and on the salt a plate that fits the top of jar. Now it is
ready to put in the cellar or any cool place for Fall and Winter use, but
in its preparation for the table lies the secret of its success. There is
only one way of making it palatable, but with directions strictly adhered
to it is preferred by many to canned corn. About one and one-half hour
before the meal at which one wishes to serve it it must be brought from
the cellar — enough for one meal — and cold water enough to cover poured
on and at once poured off. Then sufficient boiling water is poured on to
cover and it is allowed to stand on the back of the range for 15 minutes.
This water is drained off and sufficient fresh boiling water poured on to
cover and the same time allowed. This process is repeated twice more,
in all four times. , Then cream, butter, sugar and if liked a little pepper
is added. In short after pouring off the water for the fourth time it is
prepared exactly as canned corn. The process of removing the salt by a
swift boiling water process instead of a slow cold water process seems
to leave the corn as fresh as when taken from the cob. This, together
with the ease with which it is prepared — so much easier and surer than
canning — makes the process ideal.

Southern Dried Corn. — Sew firmly into a quilting-frame a strong
sheet. Gather the corn when ready for use, husk and remove silk. Put
on in boiler, cover with water and when it starts boiling let cook well
for 10 or 15 minutes. Take off, allow it to cool some, then score and cut
off, but not too close, to have it shucky, and scrape off what remains on
ear. Have your frame out in a sunny place, spread corn evenly upon it,
cover with a mosquito netting and it will dry quickly in this way, as it
dries from below just as fast as above. Then at some convenient time
when the oven is piping hot put it in the oven to heat well through in
order to kill any chance "microbe." When it comes time to cook the
dried corn wash well in water. Put to soak in milk over night and cook
in the milk it soaked in; season with sugar, salt, pepper and butter, and
you will find it very good and know that it is clean.

Uncooked Canned Corn. — Prepare corn by removing husks and silk;
break into pieces large enough to fit into two-quart cans. Season cold

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 155

water with just enough salt to taste. Then fill the cans up with this
salt water; have new rubbers for cans, and when you have got the air
bubbles all out seal your cans and stand them upside down to see that
they do not leak. If they do not your corn will keep all right. Some
cut it off and can same way, but always fill the can first and then put
in the salt water. We are told that this corn keeps perfectly.

Peas. — To can peas, fill the jars full of peas, uncooked; then fill
with cold water, and lay on the tops. Place straw or boards in the
bottom of the wash boiler, stand the jars on this, and pour enough cold
water in the boiler to come half way up the jars. Put the boiler on the
stove with the lid tightly closed, and boil three hours. When the jars
are taken out, see that they are fuU to overflowing, and screw the lid
on tight. Another method of preparing peas is to cook five minutes
in very little water, then fill the cans, and place them in the boiler to
cook for one hour. A teaspoonful of salt is added the last thing before
sealing.

Dried Peas. — Green peas are dried as follows : Shell the peas, put
them in boiling water, and boil for five minutes. Drain, then spread out
in shallow trays, and dry in the sun, or near the stove. When dry, store
away in paper bags, in a dry place. The peas should be soaked before
using; then boiled in salted water.

Tomatoes. — Scald to remove the skins, put in the jars whole or halved,
fill up with cold water; stand the jars in the wash boiler, boil 30 minutes,
and seal. Do not use any overripe or fermenting fruit. The main things
to observe in canning vegetables are that the jars are filled to overflow-
ing; that they are hermetically sealed, while hot, and that they are stored
in a cool, dry place. Vegetables, like fruits, should be taken in their
regular order and canned while in the best possible condition.

Tomatoes Canned Whole. — Select firm, smooth fruit, not overripe,
and of a size to slip into the ordinary fruit jar. Peel without breaking
and with as little scalding as possible. Have ready a preserving kettle
full of water, which has been salted slightly, only enough to taste. Just
before the water reaches the boiling point drop the tomatoes into it, one
layer at a time and heat through. Do not allow the water to boil at
any time. When thoroughly heated transfer tomatoes to the cans, being
careful not to bruise them. Fill the cans with the hot, salted water, and
screw the tops on quickly. Turn the cans over in a deep kettle of hot
water until the rubbers are heated and set, which hermetically seals the
cans. In using drain from the salt water, and serve exactly as fresh
tomatoes.

CHAPTER XIT.

PirKI.ES AXD RELISHES.

Amber Pickles. — Choose small yellow pear tomatoes when just turn-
ing to ripen. Prick each tomato with a needle three times to prevent
bursting in cooking, and soak half an hour in sa'ted water. Take out
and put in jars, after which make a syrup of one pint of vinegar, three-
quarters of a pound of C sugar and a pinch of salt, and put to boil in
a porcelain kettle. Take one-half dozen cloves, same of whole allspice,
one peppercorn, a piece of cinnamon, a splinter of mace and a chip of
ginger root ; tie all in a cheesecloth bag and boil ten minutes in the
syrup. Remove spice bag and put the tomatoes in the kettle until they
are heated through (do not let boil), take out with skimmer and put
in jars. Boil syrup 20 minutes longer and pour hot over tomatoes. Next
day pour off syrup, reheat and pour over tomatoes, and seal in jars.

Apple Pickle. — Eighteen gccd sharp apples; one-quarter pound best
ginger ; one pound Sultana raisins ; one ounce mustard seed ; six shallots ;
one-quarter pound sail; V/2 pound moist sugar; six good-sized onions;
one-half ounce small chilli peppers; one-half teaspoon cayenne pepper.
Three pints white wine vinegar. Pare and quarter apples and place in a
double boiler, cover tightly to keep in steam, cook till quite soft; chop
onions and shallots, and boil in vinegar until they are soft also. Then
mix ingredients together, and place in an iron saucepan, no other metal
will do. Roil for three-quarters of an hour, stirring faithfully, as it
burns very quickly. Put down in small pots well sealed. This pick^.e
will remain good for years. It should stand two months before using.

Sweet Apple Pickle. — Three pounds of sugar to seven of cored
apples, and one pint of vinegar. Steam the apples till tender, but not
too much ; stick a clove or two in every quarter. Make a syrup of the
sugar and vinegar and pour while hot over the apples. May be kept in
a well-covered jar in a cool place, and keep well.

String Beans. — Cut the ends off the tiny pods and remove the little
beginnings of "strings," pack in glass jars, and pour in the boiling spiced
and sweetened vinegar just as if making sweet pickled pears or peaches.
If white wine vinegar is used the beans will retain their vivid green
color and thus make a pretty as well as a delicious relish.

Beets, Canned. — Select small, dark-red beets-, about the size of a
peach or smaller, boil in the usual way. being careful not to break the
skins in washing ; do not cut the tops too close and be sure not to cut
the ends off. Boil in salted water until tender, but not too soft. Rub

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 15T

the skins off as soon as they are cool enough to handle, also cut off
top and tail and pack in fruit jars; set aside and prepare your vinegar.
It will not be necessary to heat the beets over again. Put as much
vinegar over the fire as will be required to cover the beets ; when this
comes to a boil add a little sugar, according to taste. Let the vinegar
boil five minutes longer ; pour over the beets piping hot and seal. A
small piece of horseradish put into each jar will keep the white scum
from forming on the top of the vinegar.

Beet Relish. — Boil two medium-sized beets until tender, drain and
let stand in cold water tliree minutes, then skin, slice thin and cover with
strong vinegar for one hour. Drain off the vinegar and mash the beets
thoroughly, adding three tablespoons of grated horseradish, a pinch of
salt and a dash of black pepper.

Beet Sweet Pickle. — Boil till tender, then skin, and cut into slices or
strips. Put in glass jars rather loosely, so that each piece will be sur-
rounded by the pickle. To two quarts of vinegar add four pounds of
brown sugar, and, when these are in the kettle, add a scant lialf-teaspoon-
ful of pulverized alum. Use a porcelain-lined kettle for this liquid, and
bring the contents to a boil. Skim carefully, and then add to it a small
cheesecloth bag containing a teaspoonful each of whole peppercorns,
allspice and cloves. Boil again, and add a little cayenne pepper and salt.
Fill the jars to overflowing with this liquid, and set aside over night. The
next morning drain the beets, and bring the syrup again to a hard boil.
Pour this again into the jars of beets, doing so while it is scalding hot,
and filling each jar to overflowing. Seal immediately.

Blackberry Pickle. — Put a pint of the best cider vinegar in a granite
kettle, together with four cupfuls of granulated sugar, one teaspoonful
of ground cloves, and two teaspoonfuls of ground cinnamon ; when it
boils add three quarts of dewberries or blackberries that have been care-
fully cleaned ; let the fruit cock 10 minutes in the syrup, then skim the
berries into a gallon jar; pour over the syrup and turn a plate over them
to keep the berries below the surface ; tie a double fold of cloth and
thick paper over the jar when the fruit is cold and the pickle will
keep perfectly.

Cauliflower Pickles. — Two cauliflowers, broken up, cne pint small
onions, three medium-sized red peppers; dissolve half a pint of salt in
water sufficient to cover the vegetables, and let stand over night ; drain
in the morning ; steam the vegetables until tender ; heat two quarts of
vinegar with three level tablespoonfuls of mustard (less if preferred)
until it boils; pour over vegetables; bottle and seal.

Pickled Cherries. — Five pounds of cherries, stoned or not, as pre-
ferred; one quart of vinegar, two pounds of sugar, one-half ounce of
cinnamon, one-half ounce of cloves, same amount of mace, all ground.

158- THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Boil the sugar, vinegar and spices (tie the latter in a bag) together, and
pour hot over the cherries.

Spiced Cherries. — Make a syrup by boiling together four pounds of
granulated sugar, one pint of vinegar, one-half ounce each of cinnamon
bark and whole cloves. Cook in this till the skin breaks nine pounds
of firm, ripe cherries.

Chopped Pickle. — One-half peck green tomatoes, two stalks of celery,
cne green pepper, one-half a cabbage, three large onions, all chopped, to
which add one-half a cupful of mustard seed, two tablespoonfuls of
celery seed, one-half cupful of brown sugar, one-quarter cupful of salt,
one teaspoonful of black pepper, the same of cinnamon, one saltspoonful
each of cloves and allspice and one quart of vinegar. Mix all well to-
gether and seal in Mason jars. Will keep perfectly.

Chow Chow. — Wash thoroughly and chop without paring half a
peck of green tomatoes ; chop fine one large head of white cabbage ; pare
and chop six large cucumbers ; clean thoroughly and cut into small dice
one bunch of celery and finely chop one large white onion. Mix all
together, add half a cup of salt and let stand over night. Clean 100
tiny pickles and fifty small silver-skinned onions; put into separate jars,
cover with strong salt water and let them stand over night. The next
morning drain the first mixture thoroughly, wash off the pickles and
onions and wipe dry. Chop fine one large red mango pepper. Put all
together into a preserving kettle, add two quarts of the best cider
vinegar (dilute somewhat if very strong), half a pound of granulated
sugar, half an ounce each of turmeric and celery seed, one ounce of
ground mustard seed. Cook 30 minutes, then bottle and seal.

English Chow Chow. — This calls for two medium-sized heads of
firm white cabbage, half a peck of green tomatoes, two quarts of firm
ripe tomatoes, half a dozen green peppers and two red peppers. Chop
all together as fine as you can, and pack the mixture in layers of salt.
Put it in a coarse bag of burlap or some rough material. Lay it over a
rack placed upon a deep keg or jar and put a heavy press upon it. Let it
drain in this way over night, or for 24 hours. A pint and a half of
sugar, half a cup of grated horseradish, half a teaspoonful of ground
black pepper, half an even teaspoonful of ground mustard, an ounce of
white mustard seed, ^n ounce of celery seed, a tablespoonful of ground
mace and, finally, a gill of Dutch mustard compose the seasonings and
must be added to the mixture. After it has drained sufficiently moisten
the whole with enough good cider vinegar scantily to cover it. This
chow chow requires no cooking and does not have to be put up in sealed
jars. A stone crock is all sufficient, if kept in a cold, dry place.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 159

Virginia Chow Chow. — This is an old recipe. One peck each of
green and ripe tomatoes, one large, firm head of cabbage, six each of
green and ripe peppers, six large white onions and two bunches of
celery. Chop the vegetables fine, sprinkle over them a cupful of coarse
salt and let them soak 24 hours. Drain all the liquid off, cover with
best cider vinegar, stir in one pound of dark brown sugar, one-half
cupful of grated horse-radish, two tablespoonfuls of^ white mustard
seed, one tablespoouful of ground ginger, one teaspoonful of ground
cloves and the same amount of allspice. Let the pickle come slowly
to the boiling point, then remove to the back of the range and let it
stand for one hour. Seal up in Mason jars, and it will be ready for
use in a week, but will improve with age.

Corn and Cabbage. — Cut the kernels from 12 large ears of corn, add
as much chopped cabbage as there is cut corn, one large sweet pepper
freed from seeds and chopped, one cupful of brown sugar, two table-
spoonfuls of salt, one-half tablespoouful of ground mustard and one
quart of vinegar. Bring all to a boil and then can.

Corn Relish. — Chop one head of cabbage; sprinkle over it two table-
spoonfuls of salt and let stand over night. Cut the kernels from 12
ears of corn ; chop three peppers. Mix all together. Mix with them a
little celery seed ; grated horseradish, or both if liked, though neither
are needed to insure the keeping qualities of the relish. Bring two
quarts of vinegar to boiling heat; add one cup of sugar and a quarter
of a pound of mustard that has been rubbed smooth in a little cold
vinegar. Pour this hot dressing over the mixture; stir until well
mixed; put in glass jars, or small jars.

Corn Salad. — Eighteen large ears corn, one head cabbage, one-fourth
pound ground mustard, four red peppers (chopped), one-half cup salt,
one and two-thirds cup sugar, two quarts vinegar. Corn is shaved from
cob, cabbage and .peppers chopped and all ingredients thoroughly mixed.
It is then cooked one hour. By cooking in oven it need not be stirred
so frequently and there is much less danger of burning. It is canned
and sealed while hot.

Pickled Crab Apple. — One quart of vinegar, three pounds brown
sugar; make this into a syrup. Have the apples in a gallon jar or one
of size that will set in an iron kettle. Pour .this syrup over them, have
seasoning tied in small pieces of cheese cloth and cook with the rest.
Boil in the jar until a fork will go easily into the apples. The juice
need not cover the fruit at first, the apples help make more. This
keeps the fruit whole and is very satisfactory; it needs a weight like a
small plate to keep apples under the liquor.

Cucumbers in Barrels. — Choose small cucumbers free from spots.
Put a layer of cucumbers in the bottom of a cask, then a layer of coarse

160 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

salt, about one-fourth inch thick, then another layer of cucumbers, more
salt, and so on until all are used. Place a board on top of the pickles,
with a heavy stone to keep them down. Then pour in about a quart of
water to moisten the salt, which, with the juice exuding from the cu-
cumbers should make sufficient brine to cover. Continue to add cu-
cumbers, as they are gathered, in layers as before; a few cabbage or
horseradish Icayes on top, under the board, will prevent molding. When
the cask is full, tuck a cloth closely around the edges, put board and
weight on top, and cover closely, and the cucumbers will keep for a
year or two. When cucumbers are wanted for pickling, remove cloth,
board and stone, and wash them well in warm water; wipe all scum
from sides of cask with a clean cloth, take out cucumbers, and then
cover any remaining as before. Soak cucumbers for three days in cold
water, changing water each day; drain and wipe carefully. Half fill a
large porcelain-lined preserving kettle with good cider vinegar, put in
as many cucumbers as the vinegar will cover, with a piece of alum the
size of a hazelnut; heat to boiling point, stirring with a wooden spoon
so that they do not soften at bottom of kettle, and then drain, throw-
ing away the vinegar. Cover with fresh cold vinegar, spice if desired.
A little chopped horseradish at top will prevent molding. They wnll
be ready for use in about a week. A great many cucumber pickles are
sold direct from the brine.

Brine for Cucumbers. — To six parts of water use one part salt, and
one part of cider vinegar. Keep the pickles well under the brine, and
they will keep longer and be more brittle than when laid down in salt,
in the oM way.

Pickle for Cucumbers. — One-half ounce of black pepper, one and
one-half ounce of ginger, one ounce of allspice, one ounce of cloves,
one ounce of mustard seed, three-fourths of a pound of salt, half a tea-
spoon cayenne pepper, one ounce ground mustard, one ounce turmeric,
and six quarts of vinegar. The spices are to be scalded in the vinegar,
except the mustard and turmeric which should be added when the
vinegar is cold. For a good pickle without mustard : Put a teacupful
of salt and a tablespoonful of powdered alum into a gallon of vinegar.
Pick small cucumbers and pcair a weak brine over them, boiling hot.
Let stand over night; drain, and put into prepared vinegar. Add cu-
ciunbers as convenient, and when as many have been put into the vinegar
as it will cover scald them up, and put into fresh vinegar, to which has
been added a little red pepper and horseradish.

Canned Cucumbers. — Cucumbers canned as follows will keep until
the following June, and are excellent to serve with meat or salad:
Peel and slice thin medium-sized cucumbers, sprinkle with salt and a
little alum; let stand two hours; drain and put in jars, adding vinegar

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 161

enough to cover, pepper and a few whole mustard seeds, the quantity of
pepper to be governed by the taste, and the whole pepper to be used
in preference to the ground. On top of the jar, when ready for seal-
ing, add a dessertspoonful of olive oil.

Chopped Cucumber Relish. — This is simple and very excellent. Pare
and chop fine half a peck of medium-sized cucumbers ; chop two medium-
sized onions. Salt each separately over night, using one-third of a cup
of salt in all. Drain thoroughly the next morning and mix. If the
mixture seems too salty cover with cold water and drain a second time.
Then put into a granite kettle, add a rounding tablespoonful each of
celery seed and mustard seed, a level tablespoonful of ground mustard,
one-eighth of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper, half a cup of brown
sugar and a pint of best vinegar. Boil 10 minutes, then bottle and seal,

Dill Pickles. — Make a brine strong enough to bear an ^gg, then add
half as much more water as you have brine. Wash cucumbers in cold
water, and into a stone jar put first a layer of cucumbers, then a layer
of grape leaves and a layer of dill, using leaves and stems. Continue
in this way until the jar is full. Pour the brine over all and cover, first
with a cloth, then with a plate, and put a weight on top of the plate.
The cloth must be washed 'frequently as in making sauerkraut.

Gherkins. — Wipe one quart of small unripe cucumbers. Put in a
stone crock and add one-quarter cupful of salt dissolved in one pint
of boiling water. Let stand three days. Drain cucumbers from brine,
bring the brine to the boiling point, pour over the cucumbers, and again
let stand three days. Repeat ; drain, wipe cucumbers, and pour over
one quart of boiling water in which one scant teaspoonful of alum has
been dissolved. Let stand six hours, then drain from alum water.
Cook cucumbers 10 minutes, a few at a time, in one-fourth of the fol-
lowing mixture, heated to the boiling point and boiled 10 minutes : One
quart of vinegar, one red pepper, one-half stick of cinnamon, one-half
teaspoonful allspice, one-half tablespoonful of cloves. Strain the re-
maining liquor over the pickles, which have been put in a stone jar.
Bring liquor to boiling point before turning it over the pickles.

Grated Cucumber Pickles. — Take cucumbers fully grown, pare them,
and if the seeds are large remove them, then grate and drain through
a colander, and to the pulp left add as much vinegar as there is juice,
and can.

Cucumber Mustard Pickles. — To every gallon of water add two pints
of fine salt, heat scalding hot and pour over the cucumbers. Let stand
24 hours, pour . off the brine. Heat sufficient vinegar to cover them.
To every gallon of vinegar add one tablespoonful pulverized alum, pour
over the cucumbers and cover tight to steam. Put on fresh cabbage

162 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

jtiaves every other day for a week; heat the vinegar again, put back on
I acumbers and let stand two or three days. Then take fresh vinegar;
to every gallon put one teaspoonful of red pepper, one of black pepper,
one ounce cinnamon sticks, two ounces white mustard seed, one small
piece ginger root, a small handful of horseradish root, one teaspoonful
of cloves. Boil the spices in a bag, then pour over pickles. These will
keep crisp and nice indefinitely if kept under the vinegar, or may be
bottled and sealed if preferred.

Oiled Cucumber Pickles. — Pare and slice the cucumbers as for serving.
For 50 medium-sized ones (these are best, because the seeds are not
large) make a dressing of one cupful of olive oil, half a cupful of white
mustard seed, half a cupful of black mustard seed, one tablespoonful
of celery seed and one quart of vinegar. No cooking is required. Sprin-
kle the sliced cucumbers with salt, and let them stand over night. In
the morning drain them thoroughly and cover with the dressing in a
stone jar. A pint of onions sliced thin may be added. It so, the onions
should be arranged in alternate layers with the sliced cucumbers and
salt. Place a weight over the top, let the mixture stand over night,
and drain as before.

Quick Pickles. — Gather small cucumbers, wash, and rub off the
prickles. Pack in a two-quart glass jar, put a tablespoonful of salt on
top, shaking it down, fill with cold water, put the cover on, and set
away 24 hours. Then pour off the brine, rinse the cucumbers, and fill
the jar with cold vinegar. Screw the top on tight, and store in cellar.
If the vinegar looks white in a few months' time pour a little off the
top, and fill up with fresh. These pickles are very good, though ex-
tremely sour.

Quick Mustard Pickles. — Put a gallon of vinegar and one cupful,
each, of salt and mustard into a two gallon crock; pick small, quickly
grown cucumbers; rub off the black specks, and put into vinegar. In
a few days the pickles are ready for use. Some people add a cup of
sugar and one of grated horseradish to the above recipe, but it is a
matter of taste, as neither is necessary to the keeping quality of the
pickles. Each time cucumbers are added to those in the crock all should
be well stirred up from the bottom. It is a good plan to put a quart
of vinegar with its proper proportion of salt and mustard into a two-
quart glass can, and fill in cucumbers for immediate use.

Ripe Cucumber Pickles.— Peel and cut ripe cucumbers in rings,
sprinkle salt on them and let remain over night. Drain off, and cover
with hot spiced vinegar.

Salting Cucumbers for Winter. — Secure a small keg and if you have
cucumbers in your garden gather every other day. Place a layer of
coarse salt— ice cream salt— in the bottom of the keg, add a cup of water

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 163

and cover with the cucumbers you have gathered and washed; sprinkle
over salt to cover. Repeat this as you gather cucumbers from day to
day, not, however, adding any more water, as the salt should make suf-
ficient brine. If there should not be brine to cover them you may add
a little, cautiously. There should always be a layer of salt in the bot-
tom of the keg undissolved. When you have gathered all the cucumbers
you wish put two or three fresh horseradish leaves on the top, and if
you wish you may place a stone on the top to keep the cucumbers under
the brine. When desired to make pickles take from the brine as many
as you wish into a stone jar and cover them with boiling water; let
them stand 24 hours; drain and cover again with boiling water; let
stand till next day. If you desire them very fresh you may repeat this
the third time. It is not always necessary. Then pour off the water
and drain well. To every three quarts of cucumbers take one quart of
best cider vinegar. To each gallon of vinegar take one teaspoonful
each of whole cloves, allspice, peppercorns, mace, celery seed and two
teaspoonfuls of mustard seed. Tie these in a little muslin or cheese-
cloth bag. (The spices, if scattered through the cucumbers, turn them
dark.) Add to vinegar two pieces of ginger-root an inch long and
two tiny red pepper pods, same size. Boil vinegar with spices for one
minute and pour over the cucumbers. If not enough vinegar to cover,
add more boiling hot to fill jar. These need not be sealed. Place a
horseradish leaf on the top of jar; are ready for use in a few days.
Will keep indefinitely.

Small cucumber pickles are prepared as follows: Wash and wipe;
place in jars, and cover with boiling brine, strong enough to bear an ^gg.
Let stand 24 hours; pour off the brine, wipe, and place in clean jars.
Cover with hot vinegar, spiced in the proportion of one onion, 12 whole
cloves, one ounce of mustard seed and three blades of mace to 100 cu-
cumbers. They will be ready to use in two weeks.

Sour Cucumber Pickles.— Dissolve one pint of salt in one gallon of
vinegar; wash the cucumbers and pour over them some boiling water,
let stand five or ten minutes, then pack closely in cans, pour over the
salted vinegar and seal. The friend who sends this recipe says the
pickles are very crisp and nice, and will keep as long as you will let
them.

Spiced Cucumber Pickles.— Prepar vinegar for pickles as follows:
One gallon vinegar, four ounces salt, two ounces cloves, two ounces
cinnamon, one ounce allspice, one ounce ginger root, one ounce yellow
mustard seed, one ounce celery seed, small piece of alum. Scald all
together. This will keep for years. Wash the cucumbers and drain
until dry, then put them into the vinegar at any time after it is cold.

]fl4 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

If the vinegar is very sharp add a little water to it before scalding the
ingredients together, or the pickles will shrivel.

Sweet Cucumber Pickles. — Let the cucumbers stand in salt water
three days. Heat the brine once or twice and pour over them. Drain ;
put in a jar and pour over them hot vinegar with cloves and cinnamon
in a bag; two-thirds cupful sugar to quart of vinegar; put in plenty
of horseradish and this will keep sealed or open. Put in a little alum
to make them brittle.

Boiled Sweet Cucumber Pickle. — Put cucumbers in cold weak brine
{V/i cup salt to one gallon Vvater) one day and night. Take out, dry
on cloth. To one gallon vinegar add two cups sugar, nearly one ounce
mixed spice. Heat these all boiling hot. Put in pickles and let boil
up once. Put in cans immediately and pour the hot vinegar over them.
They are nice and sweet, and will keep a long time, till eaten. These
will not shrivel if you follow directions. One gallon vinegar will cover
two gallons cucumbers.

Steamed Sweet Cucumber Pickle. — Peel, steam as soft as liked and
let stand over night in a weak brine. Next morning drain, put on
vinegar enough to cover, and let stand over night. Again in the morn-
ing drain off the liquid part. Now take one pint of fresh vinegar, three
pounds of sugar and one ciiuce of cassia buds (no other spices). When
this comes to the boiling point put in the cucumbers, let scald up and then
pack away in stone jars.

Tested Cucumber Pickles. — Wash and fill two-quart can with freshly
picked cucumbers of any desired size. Add to them two heaping table-
spoonfuls dry mustard; two heaping tablespoonfuls salt, and fill can
with good cold cider vinegar. It doesn't matter whether you have an
airtight top or not; a cork with cloth tied over, or put in crock. If
you like more mustard or salt it will do no harm.

Pickles Without Cooking. — One cupful of sugar, one cupful salt, one
goodsized root of horseradish, one tablespoonful alum, one tablespoonful
white mustard seed, one gallon vinegar, mixed spice to taste. Boil the
above ingredients. Then allow the prepared vinegar to become cold
before putting in the cucumbers. Use the smallest pickles, as the large
ones do not always become thoroughly pickled, but for the small ones
this way ot preparing them is excellent.

Spiced Currants. — IMake a syrup of three pounds of sugar, one pint
of vinegar and water, half ?nd half, two tablespoonfuls of cinnamon,
one tablespoonful of cloves, half a teaspoonful of salt; add six pounds
of washed, stemmed currants and boil half an hour. Seal in jars.

Pickled Damsons. — This is a sweet pickle, and very good served
with mutton or venison. Ingredients required : Three pounds damsons,

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 165

one quart of vinegar, three pounds moist sugar, one-half ounce cinna-
mon, three blades of mace, one-quarter ounce allspice. The plums
should be ripe, but not too much so ; the bloom is rubbed off with a
piece of flannel or a clean cloth, and they are pricked a little with a
needle. The vinegar, sugar and spices are boiled together for 10 min-
utes, then strained and poured over the fruit, in a large basin Next
day the vinegar is boiled again, and again poured over the damsons,
and on the third day the damsons themselves are simmered in the
vinegar for exactly five minutes. They should be tied down while hot.
A quicker method of pickling either plums or damsons is the following :
Remove the stalks from the fruit ; wipe it and arrange in layers in a
jar with good brown sugar sprinkled between. Fill up the jars with
cold vinegar, tie them down and bake in rather a slow oven till the
plums are tender^ then tie down for use.

French Mustard. — Take six ounces of salt, four ounces of scraped
horseradish, one clove of garlic, and two quarts of boiling vinegar;
steep these together in a covered vessel for six hours, then strain and
add mustard to the spiced vinegar sufficient to make it the proper con-
sistency. These proportions are large ; they can be reduced if necessary,
but the mustard will keep a long time, as it is made with boiling vinegar.

Gillespie Relish. — Ore peck ripe tomatoes, two cupfuls celery, six
large onions, seven red peppers. Run the peeled tomatoes and the
onions through a meat grinder. Chop the celery and the peppers fine.
Add two ounces of mustard seed and ground cinnamon, one-half cupful
of salt, three pints cider vin.^gar and two pounds of light brown sugar.
Mix and seal. Do not cook. It is claimed that this will keep per-
fectly for five years, and it is very appetizing and universally liked.

Hebrew Pickle. — For a pint of pickles grate two roots of horse-
radish. Mix with it two tablespoonfuls of celery seed, three tablespoon-
fuls of mustard seed, four tablespoonfuls of sugar and one tablespoonful
of turmeric. Cover the ingredients with scalding hot vinegar. Seal in
glass jars. Let stand one week before using.

India Relish. — This recipe calls for gherkins, large cucumbers, small
onions, cabbage and red peppers. Green nasturtium seeds may be added.
Cut the vegetables all into small pieces and put the mixture, layer by
layer, into a stone jar, separating the layers with salt. Sprinkle the top
well with salt, cover with a plate weighted with a flatiron, stone or
brick, and let the jar and contents stand for three days. At the end of
that time drain off the liquid and rinse the vegetables thoroughly in
cold water. Then cover with fresh cold water and leave for 36 hours.
In the meantime scald three-quarters of a gallon of cider vinegar with
half a tablespoonful each of celery seed, paprika, cloves, mace, ground
mustard and horseradish and two tablespoonfuls of curry. Add one

166 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

and three-quarters cupful of brown sugar. Turn the vinegar over the
drained vegetables and cook for a quarter of an hour. Put the relish
into a stone jar and leave it for two or three days. Then drain off the
vinegar, scald it and pour it while hot over the vegetables. Let it
stand until the next day, then fill into small jars, cover closely and
keep in a cool dark place.

India Relish No. 2. — This comes from the South. Two pounds of
citron melon or Avatermelon rind, two heads of cabbage, white and firm;
six white onions, one large cupful of sugar, one heaping teaspoonful
each of ground cinnamon, mace, paprika (Hungarian sweet pepper),
mustard and powdered alum, one tablespoonful of curry powder, one
quart of vinegar, two tablespoonfuls of celery seed, one tablespoonful
of salt. Prepare the melon by cutting off the green rind and scraping
away the softer inner coating, leaving less than an inch firm and white.
Cut into thin strips, put into a porcelain-lined kettle, cover with cold
water and sprinkle a tablespoonful of powdered alum over it. Cover
closely and cook gently for three hours. Drain well and cover with
ice water. Change the water twice in four hours, and then wipe the
melon dry. Cut the cabbage into quarters, cook in boiling water slightly
salted for fifteen minutes. Let it get perfectly cold. Parboil the
onions, and allow them also to get cold and stiff. Now chop cabbage,
melons and onions separately and very fine. Mix all together in a large
crock and pour over them the scalding hot vinegar, in which have been
boiled for one minute the spices, sugar and celery seed. Leave the
crock covered 24 hours. Strain off the vinegar, bring it to a boil and
pour again over the mixture in the crock. Repeat this for three days
in succession, after which pack in small jars, cover closely and set away
to ripen. It will be ready for use in six weeks, but improves by keeping.

Pickled Mangoes. — Young musk, or nutmeg melons are needed for
the purpose. Through a slit in the side of the melon extract all the
seeds with the fingers without breaking the fruit. In case the patience
gives out, a plug can be cut out, saved and replaced, but it is better to
make only the slit. Keep the melons in strong brine for three days,
then drain them and let them remain in pure water for 24 hours. Heat
slowly in vinegar, in which alum has been dissolved, until the melons are
green. For a gallon of vinegar a piece of alui^i half the size of a
hickorynut will be wanted. The following is the recipe for the stuf-
fing, given in an old cook book: One handful of horseradish scraped;
two handfuls of English mustard seed, twq teaspoonfuls of chopped
garlic, one teaspoonful of ground nutmeg and mace, one dozen whole
peppercorns, one teaspoonful of ground ginger, half a tablespoonful of
ground mustard, one teaspoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of celery
seed and one tablespoonful of olive oil. Fill the greened mangoes

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 167

through the slit with the mixture. Sew up the slit, or tie the melon
securely so that it will not open. Pack the mangoes in a big stone jar
and pour scalding vinegar over them. After two days, drain off the
vinegar, scald and return it to the jar, and repeat twice at intervals
of two days. The mangoes will be ready for use in four or five
months.

Minced Pickle. — Chop half a peck of green tomatoes, cover them with
two-thirds "of a cupful of salt and let them stand for a day and a
night. Then scald half a gallon of vinegar with a tablespoonful of
pepper, a tablespoonful and a half each of ground mustard, allspice,
cinnamon and cloves and half a cupful of white mustard seed. Add to
the tomatoes two onions chopped fine and four large green peppers de-
nuded of seeds and cut into rings. Turn the vinegar over the mixture
and boil steadily 20 minutes ; then bottle.

Mixed Pickle. — Three hundred small cucumbers, two heads of cauli-
flower, one of cabbage, six green peppers with seeds taken out, three
quarts small onions and two quarts small beans. Cut the cabbage and
the cauliflower in small pieces, and put all in a brine strong enough to
bear up an tgg. Let them remain 24 hours, then rinse and drain thor-
oughly. Place on the stove two gallons of vinegar, add a large root
of horseradish, grated, two ounces each of mustard seed and black pep-
per, one teaspoon cayenne, and one ounce of turmeric. Let it boil and
pour over pickles in a jar. When cold mix in one cupful of mustard
wet with cold vinegar.

Mixed Pickle No. 2. — One-half medium-sized head of cabbage, four
celery roots, four tablespoonfuls grated horseradish, six large green
tomatoes, one large or two small Spanish onions, 1^ quart of vinegar,
one-fourth teaspoonful of powdered alum. Chop all the vegetables and
mix them together. Put a layer about two inches thick in the bottom
of a jar, sprinkle it with a tablespoonful of salt, then another layer of
vegetables and salt, and so on until all is used. Allow it to stand 24
hours, then drain, and press out all the liquor; cover with boiling
water, allow it to stand 10 minutes, then press with the hands until
entirely dry. Add to one quart of vinegar ^4 teaspoonful of alum, and
stir until dissolved. Put a layer of the pickles two inches thick in the
bottom of a jar, sprinkle with mustard seed, black pepper, and the
grated horseradish; then another layer of pickle, and so on until used.
Pour the vinegar over, let it stand two days, and it is ready for use.

Mock Olives. — Two quarts of green plums, 1^ tablespoonful mus-
tard seed, 25^ tablespoonfuls salt, two quarts vinegar. Place the plums
in a stone jar with mustard seed and salt; turn the vinegar into a pre-
serving kettle, bring to a boil and pour over plums. Cover closely.

168 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Next day drain off the vinegar, bring again to a boil and pour over
plums while hot. If plums arc large repeat the third morning. When
cold place all in olive bottles and cork tightly. They will taste like
real olives.

Muskmelon Pickles. — Pare the rind off ripe, spicy, green melons, re-
move the seeds and cut into thick slices. Weigh as for peaches, seven
pounds of fruit to three and- one-quarter pounds of sugar, and put the
sugar to cook with water enough to dissolve it. Boil and skim it until
clear, then pour it over the melon in a crock. Repeat this for three
mornings, but on the third morning add a cupful of vinegar to each
three pints of syrup and boil it up with a cupful of spices in a bag.
Pour it over the melon in jars and seal at once.

Mustard Pickles.— Two quarts small cucumbers, one quart small
onions, one quart green tomatoes, one large cauliflower, six green pep-
pers, quartered. Lay in weak brine twenty-four hours, then scald in
same water and drain. .Paste — six tablespoonfuls English mustard, one
tablespoonful tumeric, one and one-half cup of sugar, one small cup
of flour, two quarts best cider vinegar. IMix dry ingredients thor-
oughly, add vinegar, boil a few minutes, pour over pickles and bottle.

Mustard Pickles Xc. 2. — This differs from most recipes for this
pickle in being made without green tomato. Put one-half peck small
encumbers, two quarts silver skinned onions, and two heads of picked
cauliflower to soak in water to cover and a cupful of salt over night. In
the morning drain ; mix one dessertspoonful of turmeric powder with
three-quarters of a pound of the best mustard; wet with sufficient
vinegar to mix without lumps. Put three quarts of vinegar over the
fire, add five cents' worth of mixed pickling spices, one-half ounce
celery seed, one-half ounce v/hite mustard seed, one teaspoonful each
of cinnamon and cloves, one pound of brown sugar, carefully stir in
the mustard and turmeric paste and let boil up well; then add the
mixed pickles, two red peppers chopped with the seeds of same, and
stir all together. After it begins to bubble let boil well for five minutes.

Mustard Pickles No. 3. — Equal quantities of cucumbers, celery, cauli-
flower and small button onions. Cut all in small pieces except the
onions. Cover with strongly-salted water for 24 hours ; drain, put into
a jar, and pour on hot vinegar (not too strong) sufficient to cover. Let
the pickles stand three days, and then drain. To five quarts of the
pickle use thres quarts of cider vinegar, one cupful of sugar, and two
tablespoonfuls of butter. Heat to boiling, then stirring constantly (for
fear of burning) add one cupful of flour, six tablespoonfuls of ground
mustard and one-half ounce of turmeric powder wetted in cold vinegar.
Stir till smooth, and pour over the pickle while hot; stir well. When
cold cover close.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. m

Sliced Mustard Pickles. — One dozen large cucumbers sliced, two
dozen very small cucumbers, one quart of small onions, one large cauli-
flower, steamed slightly. Soak all these ingredients in cold brine over
night. Paste for the pickles is made as follows: One-half pound of
ground yellow mustard, one tcacupful of flour, one teacupful of sugar,
one-half ounce of turmeric. Rub the above ingredients together with a
little vinegar until smooth. Then add three quarts of vinegar, letting
it scald until a thick paste. Next add one-half ounce of celery seed,
and pour the hot paste over the pickles, put in cans and seal.

Nasturtium Pods Pickled. — Put the pods to soak in weak brine
for two days, then in fresh water one day; drain, put in a jar, and
cover with boiling vinegar. The vinegar m.ay be spiced if desired, but
if the pods are to be used in sauce they are better unspiced.

Pickled Onions. — First pour boiling water over the onions to loosen
the skins. As soon as cool enough to handle begin to peel, dropping
the onions as peeled into salt water (not brine) to prevent their being
discolored. Make a strong brine, heat to the boiling point, and pour
ever the onions. Leave them in the brine 48 hours, then drain. Spice
vinegar according to taste, I'Cat 1o boiling point, and pour over the
onions. Set away for two or three days, drain off the vinegar, heat it
again, and pour it over the onions in the jars in which they are to be
stored; tie up the jars and set away.

Pickled Peaches. — For pickling select medium-sized peaches, ripe and
firm. Rub off the down with a piece of flannel. To eight pounds of
fruit use four pounds of granulated sugar, one quart of vinegar, two
ounces of stick cinnamon. Boii the sugar, vinegar and cinnamon for five
minutes. Then put in the peaches carefully, a few at a time. If one
likes cloves, two or three may be stuck in each peach. When the
peaches arc done enough to be easily pricked with a fork, take them out
and put in the jar. When the peaches are all cooked boil the syrup
till a little thick, pour over peaches and seal cans or jars.

Sweet Pickled Peaches. — Cut the peaches in two, remove the stones,
and close the openings with halves together, pack in jars, and cover with
the following liquid: To two pounds of sugar add one pint of vinegar
(best cider vinegar alone should be used for all pickles), tie in a bag
a teaspoonful of whole cloves, one-half teaspoonful cassia buds, three
sticks of cinnamon (broken) and some tiny bits of ginger, allspice and
nutmeg (about a teaspoonful in all). Scald three times and seal the
jars. Keep in dark, dry place; when ready to use remove the spice.

Sweet Pickled Pears. — Select ripe but firm fruit, peel and measure
out for every seven pounds of fruit four of white sugar, one pint of soft
vinegar and half a tablespoonful each of whole cloves, whole allspice

170 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

and cinnamon sticks. Put the pears in a kettle and over each layer
sprinkle sugar until both are exhausted. Heat slowly until the boiling
point is reached, then add the vinegar and spice and boil five minutes.
Take out the fruit with a perforated skimmer and spread upon platters
to cool. Boil the syrup till thick. Heat the jars, pack in the pears
and pour the syrup over boiling hot; seal.

Pepper Hash. — Wash and dry five large green peppers and one red
one, remove seeds and chop shells quite fine; chop fine a good-sized
cabbage, and place with the peppers in a bowl, mixing well. Add two
tablespoonfuls of brown mustard seed, three tablespoonfuls of salt and
enough good cider vinegar to cover the whole. Stir well together and
put into pickle bottles. Ready for use in two days, or will keep for
Winter use.

Pepper Mangoes. — Two dozen full-grown pods of red pepper. Cut
out the stems with a sharp knife and scrape out the seeds. Lay the pods
in brine and let soak for 24 hours. Drain. Make a dressing of finely
chopped cabbage, enough to fill the peppers, seasoned with one table-
spoonful each of salt and pulverized mustard seed, one teaspoonful of
grated horseradish, one teaspoonful of black pepper and one tablespoon-
ful of made mustard. When well mixed stuff the peppers, sew the
stems on with a coarse thread, pack in a stone jar, cover with strong
vinegar and let stand two weeks before using.

Pickled Peppers. — Put two dozen green peppers in a bowl and pour
over them a very strong brine. Put a weight over them to keep them
under the water and let them lie for two days. Drain them, make a
small incision in the side of each to let out the water, wipe them with
a soft cloth and put them in a stone jar, with one-half ounce of whole
allspice, one-half ounce of whole cloves and a small lump of alum. Pour
cold vinegar over them and tie a bladder securely over the jar. Pickled
in this way the peppers should preserve their color.

Pepper Relish. — Remove the seeds from six large green peppers and
one red bell pepper, and chop the peppers fine. Mix the peppers with
a finely minced head of cabbage. Turn in a little less than a quarter
of a cupful of salt, a full cupful of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of mus-
tard seed and nice cider vinegar enough to cover the mixture. Stir
thoroughly and bottle.

Piccalilli. — Two pecks of green tomatoes, two heads of white cab-
bage, 12 large onions, four green peppers, two red peppers, one good
root of horseradish (grated), one tablespoonful each of cinnamon, nut-
meg and allspice. Chop all fine, stir in two cups of salt and let stand
all night, then drain; cover with cold vinegar, boil 10 minutes and drain
again. Cover with vinegar, add the spices and three pounds of brown
sugar. Boil a few minutes and put away in jars.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 171

Canned Pimentos.— These are simply red peppers, the long, tapering,
sharp-pointed sweet variety. They repay one for the trouble, as they
retail at 15 cents a can, and in glass jars at 35 cents per quart. Select
ripe red ones, neither dry nor woody. Cut off stem end and extract the
seeds. Drop in a jar and cover with brine that will float an tgg. Let
stand three days. Wash in several waters, cover with clear water one
day, then drain well. Place peppers in cans, fill to overflowing with
boiling water, add a level tablespoonful of salt to each quart of water;
place in a boiler on two-inch layer of straw, weight cans to prevent
tipping, pour in boiling water to cover two-thirds of the can, screw
lids on loosely and cover the boiler. When the water boils simmer 10
minutes, remove and seal. They are used in salads, as a relish with
cold meats or are stuffed with rice, macaroni or bread crumbs.

Pumpkin Pickle. — This is very good when there is a scarcity of
apples. Pare the pumpkins carefully, leaving out all soft or stringy
parts, then cut into pieces about one or two inches square. Soak over
night in vinegar, salt and water, just enough vinegar and salt to make
a good flavor. The next day make a pickle as you would for any nice
pickle and let them simmer on the back of the stove for a long time
without stirring. Our rule for pickle is seven pounds fruit, four pounds
sugar and one pint of vinegar. We usually flavor the pumpkin pickle
with either sliced lemon or ginger root.

Quince Sweet Pickles. — Scrub with a small vegetable brush to re-
move the down, wipe dry and cut out any spots or decayed portions.
Slice, without paring, into rounds a fourth of an inch thick, leaving in
both core and seeds, unless imperfect, then weigh. Put the fruit, a
thin layer at a time, in a steamer or colander over boiling water, cover
closely and steam until it is perfectly tender, then place in a stone
jar. Make the syrup of four pounds of sugar, a pint of vinegar of
medium strength, a pint of the water over which the fruit was steamed.
an ounce of stick cinnamon, a heaping tablespoonful of allspice berries
and a level tablespoonful of whole cloves to seven pounds of the fruit.
Pour over the fruit, cover securely and stand in a cool place over
night. The next morning drain off the syrup, boil for 10 minutes with
the spice bag, skim and pour again boiling hot over the fruit. Continue
this process for three successive mornings. The last morning add the
fruit to the syrup and spices and boil gently until heated through, then
skim out and put into the crock. Continue to boil the syrup until it is
as thick as molasses. If, after the second boiling, it does not seem
spiced sufficiently, add more spices tied in a fresh bag. When the syrup
is done, reheat the quinces in it, then fill into self-sealing glass jars as
in canning.

Red Cabbage Pickle.— Cut a red cabbage of good size into six pieces,

172 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

sprinkle it with salt and leave it for a day and a night. Then drain off
the liquid, rinse it with cold water and let it soak in fresh cold water.
Scald half a gallon of vinegar with a dozen w^hole cloves and white pep-
pers and a few blades of mace broken fine. Turn in half a cupful of
sugar and two or three tablespoonfuls of celery seed. Cook slowdy for
a quarter of an hour. Have the cabbage, drained and dried, packed into
a stone jar. Turn the hot vinegar over it and put it in a cool place.
The cabbage will be at its best in two months.

Spanish Sauce. — One peck green tomatoes, one quart onions, six
large sweet peppers, four quarts ripe tomatoes, two heads celery chopped
fine, two pounds brown sugar, one gallon vinegar, one teaspoonful
cayenne pepper, three tablespoonfuls cinnamon, one tablespoonful each
of allspice, mace and cloves. Chop green tomatoes, onions and seeded
peppers, salt and let stand over night. In the morning strain through
a cloth until perfectly dry. Then mix all the ingredients and boil until
tender, .

Tomato Conserve. — Cut five large sound tomatoes into pieces and
cook them until they are tender, with two onions in which three or
four cloves have been stuck, tw^o bay leaves and salt and pepper to
taste. Then turn the fruit on to a fine sieve placed over a bowl and
drain off the juice. Boil the juice until it has been half reduced. Next
remove the onions and bay leaves from the tomatoes left on the sieve
and press the pulp through the fine meshes. Add to it the juice, put
the mixture into wide mouthed bottles ; cover them loosely and stand
them in a kettle of warm water (it should be about their own tem-
perature). Bring the water to a boil and boil for half an hour. Leave
the bottles in the kettle until they are cool, then tighten their covers
and set them in the dark.

Egg Tomatoes in Sweet Pickle. — Pour scalding water over seven
pounds of the egg tomatoes, let them stand for a moment, then remove
the skin. Cover them with vinegar much diluted with water and let
them stand 12 hours. Put one-half cupful of weak vinegar in the pre-
serving kettle and add part of the tomatoes, then some sugar and any
whole spices, such as ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cloves and mace, using
these or even more varieties according to taste. Add more of the to-
matoes, more sugar and more spices, alternating the layers thus until
all the tom.atoes and five pounds of sugar have been used. Cook very
gently, stirring just enough to prevent scorching without breaking the
tomatoes. When these are quite clear and transparent, remove them
carefully and boil down the syrup. When the syrup is thick strain it
and add the tomatoes. Boil up once and pour into pint jars to be sealed
at once.

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 173

French Sweet Pickle. — One peck green tomatoes chopped and six
large onions sliced. Salt them and let stand over night. Then drain off
the watery part and cover v/ith vinegar, add two teaspoons of baking
soda dissolved in a little water, and let the whole boil for 15 minutes.
Take two pounds of brown sugar, two ounces of cinnamon, one ounce
of ground cloves and one-half pound of white mustard seed and mix
dry. Put this in the kettle v/ith three quarts of vinegar. Once more
drain the tomato of its liquid part, add it to the spice and vinegar and
cook for an hour.

Green Tomato Chili Sauce. — Slice the green tomatoes and salt down
as you do e:gg plant, put a weight on them and let stand until morn-
ing, then rinse in cold water to take out the salt and wash out the seeds
and bitter juice of the green tomato. For 12 tomatoes take four sweet
green peppers, half dozen chili peppers, one large onion, one cupful
vinegar, one tablespoonful sugar, two teaspoonfuls of salt, one of pep-
per, two of ground allspice, half teaspoonful of mace, one of cinnamon,
one of cloves. Chop the tomatoes fme, boil 20 minutes, strain and press
through a sieve. Chop the peppers and onions very fine, first taking out
the seeds of the peppers. Boil all together for 10 minutes; add spices,
then bottle and seal.

Green Tomato Chow Chow. — Chop fine one peck of green tomatoes,
three onions, six green peppers ; sprinkle them lightly with salt, let stand
an hour, then scald in the juices. Put three quarts of vinegar in a
porcelain-lined kettle with one pint of sugar and a few pieces of horse-
radish root. Boil for five minutes, add the tomatoes and boil five
minutes longer, put into stone jars, cover and set in cool, dry place.
Whole cloves, mace and stick cinnamon may be added to this if you want
a spiced pickle.

Easy Green Tomato Pickle. — Slice the tomatoes and allow them to
stand in weak salt brine over night. In the morning rinse and pack
directly in fruit jars. Place the jars uncovered in the steamer and steam
for about two hours. Plave ready at the end of that time a sweet-spiced
vinegar made exactly as you do for pickling peaches, and after draining
all the juice that cooks from the sliced tomatoes, fill the cans brim-full
with it and seal as in canning anything.

Green Tomato Sweet Pickle. — Wash the tomatoes and let drain, then
slice into a large earthen dish, sprinkling salt between the layers. Let
stand till next day. Pour off the brine and juice, rinse off with clear
water, let the fruit drain, then weigh if you like to follow the exact
rule. To a syrup made of brown sugar and a little water add ginger
root, cloves and cinnamon bark. Also tie up two or three little bags of
mixed, ground spices to cook with the rest. Add the tomato and a
handful of nasturtium seeds, and cook till the tomato seems tender.

174 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

The nasturtium seeds should be not more than half grown, green, and
if in clusters, so much the better. Skim out the tomato into a stone
jar, add a liberal quantity of vinegar to the juice left in the kettle, and
when it boils up pour over the contents of the jar.

Green Tomato Mangoes. — Select smooth tomatoes of good shape
and showing no signs of ripening. Cut across one-fourth of the length
below the stem and carefully extract the seeds and pulp. Have ready
a filling composed of two parts finely chopped cabbage and one part
onions, also chopped fine, and season to taste with celery and mustard
seeds, pepper and sugar. Fill the tomato shells as full as possible and
tie the tops firmly on with strong cord. Let the mangoes lie over night
in very strong brine, then scak them for 24 hours in weak vinegar.
Pack in a stone jar, leaving plenty of space above them, and fill the jar
with three parts vinegar to one part water, sweetened to the taste.
These mangoes may be made either sweet or sour as preferred. A few
pieces of horseradish root will season and preserve the vinegar.

Tomato soy is made with both green and ripe fruit. The following
is an excellent tested recipe for ripe tomato soy: Peel and chop a
peck of ripe tomatoes until they are quite fine. Then put them upon
the fire in a preserving kettle with a half a teacupful of whole cloves ;
the same quantity of whole allspice; a scant teacupful of salt; a table-
spoonful of black pepper, and three red pepper and five onions, all of
which have been chopped fine. Let the ingredients boil together for fully
an hour, and immediately add a quart of the best cider vinegar. When
the soy has cooled sufficiently, it may be bottled.

Green Tomato Soy. — One peck green tomatoes ; one quart onions, salt
and vinegar as desired ; one teaspoonful ground cloves ; one tea-
spoonful ginger; one teaspoonful cinnamon; the same of black pepper;
^ teaspoonful red pepper; '-^ pound brown sugar; half a grated nut-
meg. Wash the tomatoes and cut in slices, also the onions. Place a
layer of tomatoes and then sprinkle with salt, next a layer of onions in
the same way — until all are done. Let stand over night. In the morn-
ing drain well and then put on the stove to cook, covering the prepara-
tion with vinegar. Add the spices and let it boil slowly together four
or five hours; then bottle hoi, leaving the covers off the jars till the
next day.

Tomato Mustard. — To one peck of ripe tomatoes add two teaspoon-
fuls of salt and stew half an hour; then pass through a sieve. Add
two dessertspoonfuls of finely chopped onions, one dessertspoonful each
of whole pepper, allspice and cloves tied in a muslin bag, and half a
teaspoonful of cayenne; simmer down one-third, then stir in a tea-

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 176

spoonful of curry powder and a teacupful of mustard; simmer half an
hour longer, then bottle.

Ripe Tomato Pickle. — Mix in the order given one and a half pints
of firm ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped, one-half cupful of chopped
celery, two tablespoonfuls of chopped red pepper, two tablespoonfuls of
chopped onion, two tablespoonfuls of salt, three tablespoonfuls of sugar,
three tablespoonfuls of mustard seed, one-quarter teaspoonful of cloves,
one-half teaspoonful of cinnamon, one-half teaspoonful of grated nut-
meg and one cupful of vinegar. Stir thoroughly, put in a stone jar and
cover. It should stand one week before using, but may be kept one
year.

Green Tomato Pickle. — Slice very thinly one peck of green to-
matoes and two quarts of onions, sprinkling them all with a little salt,
and let them stand till next day. Now drain them through a colander,
put them on with enough good vinegar to cover them, and boil very
gently till clear and tender. Then drain them from the vinegar. Put
into about the same quantity of fresh vinegar two pounds of brown
sugar, one -half pound of white mustard seed, one-half ounce of ground
mace, one tablespoonful each of celery seed and ground cloves, and boil
them all together for a few minutes; then pour it over the drained to-
matoes, which have been previously mixed with one dessertspoonful of
cayenne, one full teaspoonful each of ground mustard and of tur-
meric; mix this all well together, add about half a pint of good salad
oil, and, when cold, put it into jars.

Sour Green Tomato Pickle. — Peel green tomatoes and to each quart
add three small cucumbers, one pint small white onions, two green pep-
pers, quarter of a pound of salt, and half a pound of mustard seed.
Chop all fine, mix and set away in a jar for twenty-four hours; then
cover with good vinegar and place bits of horseradish root on toip.
Cover, but do not seal.

Tomato Puree. — Break ripe sound tomatoes in halves and crush them
as they heat slowly. When they are tender strain and push the pulp
through a sieve, season with salt and pepper and turn into glass jars.
Put the cover on loosely, stand the jars in a pan of warm water and
boil for half an hour. Then screw the covers on firmly. Use for mak-
ing soups or gravies.

Spiced Tomatoes. — Put into a preserving pan four pounds of good
red tomatoes, two pounds of brown sugar, one pint of good vinegar
(cider vinegar if possible), and one-half ounce each of cloves and stick
cinnamon. Stew this altogether very gently till the tomatoes are cooked,
but not broken; then lift them out and set them aside to cool. Con-
tinue simmering very slowly till it is as thick" as syrup. When the toma-

176 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

toes are quite cold, reheat them gently in the syrup and again lift them
out, packing them, when perfectly cold, in jars, pouring the thick
syrup (also quite cold) over them, and cover tight.

Virginia Pickle. — This is uncooked. In a three-gallon jar mix one
gallon of strong vinegar, one-half pint of salt, three pounds of hrown
sugar, two ounces each of black pepper, brown ginger, celery seed, mus-
tard seed, mace, cloves, horseradish and allspice, one-half box of ground
mustard, a little red pepper and one-half dozen pepper pods. Peel three
dozen onions and put them with fresh cucumbers, just from the vine,
washed and wiped dry, into the spiced vinegar, using enough cucumbers to
fill the jar. Agitate the pickles every other morning for several months
or until cool weather comes. Then add more sugar until the pickles
have a pleasant taste.

Pickled Walnuts.— The walnuts must be gathered while young and
green, and be laid in strong brine. Leave them in this for a week,
changing it every other day. Take them out, dry them between two
cloths and pierce each with a large needle. Throw them into cold
water and leave them several hours before packing them in small jars
and pouring over them scalding hot seasoned vinegar, prepared in the
following proportions: Four quarts of vinegar, one cupful of sugar,
three dozen cloves, three dozen black peppers, 18 whole allspice and 12
blades of mace boiled together for five minutes.

Yellow Mustard Pickle.— One-half gallon vinegar, three dozen sliced
cucumbers, three dozen onions, one tablespoonful turmeric, one table-
spoon mustard, one-half cup each of sugar and flour, and one-third
teaspoon of red pepper. Pare and slice cucumbers and onions, cover
with water, add one-half cup salt and let stand over night. In the
morning drain the cucumbers and onions; put vinegar on the stove to
boil, mix the spices, sugar and flour in a little cold vinegar, add to the
boiling vinegar and let boil five minutes, stirring constantly; then put
in cucumbers and onions, boil 15 minutes and seal in jars while hot.

Vinegar for Yellow Pickles. — This may be used for cucumbers, to-
matoes or any other vegetable desired. Use one-half pound of grated
horseradish, one pound of white mustard seed, one-half pound of black
mustard seed, one ounce each of mace, nutmegs, cloves, allspice and
ground white pepper, two ounces of turmeric, one-half cupful of ground
mustard, two tablespoonfuls of celery seed, four cloves of garlic, one-
quarter pound of ground ginger and two pounds of brown sugar. Puf
in a three-gallon jar with two gallons of vinegar. Stir frequently and let
remain for several weeks before using. This will keep any length of
time. Half quantity may be prepared for the use of a small family.

Corn Vinegar.— A friend says she prefers this to cider vinegar:
One pint corn cut from cob; one pint of brown sugar or molasses, to

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 177

one gallon of rain water. Put in a large jar. Keep covered with a
cloth. Set in the sun. In a month you will have good vinegar.

Fruit Vinegars. — Among suggestions for making vinegar given by a
correspondent of Good Housekeeping, it is stated that half-gallon fruit
jars are better than stone jugs to make it in, as a larger surface is
exposed to the light and air, and by shaking often, oxygenation, souring,
is hastened. A cloth should, of course, be tied over the top to keep out
insects and dust. The jars should be set in the sun, and- whenever the
fluid has worked clear, strain off and leave it in a warm place until it is
as sharp as desired. When mother forms, new vinegar can be made by
simply adding sweetened water. Always use soft water, but if it is not
available, boil the water and set it in the sun a day or two. To make
vinegar from apple or peach parings, fill a jar half full of parings, add
one-half teacup molasses, and fill up with water. Set in the sun and
strain for use in about two weeks. Tomato vinegar is made by mashing
and straining a quart of ripe tomatoes, putting in a jar with one cupful
of sugar or molasses, then filling the jar with soft water, and keeping in
a sunny place two weeks. In default of other material vinegar may be
made from yeast. Dissolve half a teacupful of brown sugar in one pint
of warm water, add one small yeast cake, and fill the jar with water.
This must be left to work for two weeks.

Gooseberry Vinegar. — Boil one gallon of water; when cold add three
quarts of ripe gooseberries, mashed. Allow it to stand for four days,
stirring every day. On the fourth day strain through, a sieve to remove
the seeds, then barrel. To erch gallon of the liquid add l^/i pound
sugar, and one-eighth cake of compressed yeast. We used to use barm
(the foam from fermenting beer) which was the ordinary form of yeast
years ago in communities where home brewing was practiced. Stir every
day until the vinegar has done fermenting, then close the barrel. Green
or amber gooseberries are best. This is a very superior vinegar.

Honey Vinegar. — One friend says she uses VA pound of strained
honey to a gallon of water, but Bulletin 146 of the Otitario (Canada)
Department of Agriculture advises l^A ounce of honey to one gallon of
clear, soft water. Store in a barrel with an opening to permit air circu-
lation, in a warm place; at the end of a year it is ready for use. The
Ontario bulletin says its keeping qualities are excellent, and the best of
pickles can be made with it, v/hile it is recommended for salads.

Spiced Vinegar. — This gives a fine flavor to green vegetables, such as
cucumbers, cabbage, cauliflower, beans, salads, etc. For each quart of
vinegar slice a clove of garlic, a small onion, a two-inch root of horse-
radish, half an ounce of bruised ginger root, a teaspoonful each of
unground black pepper, allspice and mustard seed. Put all in a stone jar
and simmer on the range for five hours. Then strain and bottle for use.

178 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

CATSUPS AND SAUCES.

Barberry Catsup. — Stew three quarts of barberries with three cupfuls
of water til) well cooked, then strain through a sieve. In a separate
saucepan stew four quarts of cranberries, a cupful of raisins, a large
quince sliced, four small onions minced and a quart of water for half an
hour, then pass through a sieve; mix with the barberry juice and add
half a cupful of vinegar, one- fourth of a cupful of salt, two cupfuls of
brown sugar, a dessertspoonful each of ground cloves and ground all-
spice, two tablespoonfuls each of black pepper and celery seed, one
teaspoonful of cayenne, cinnamon and ginger and a grated nutmeg. Let
the whole boil one minute. If too thick add vinegar or water. This recipe
is given by Miss Parloa; some cooks make the catsup omitting the quince
and cranberries.

Bordeaux Sauce. — Two quarts of cabbage chopped to a powder, one
quart of chopped green tomatoes, drained free of juice, three small onions
chopped, one quart of vinegar, one-quarter ounce each of celery seed,
black pepper, ginger and turmeric, one-eighth pound of mustard seed,
one-quarter cupful of salt, and one-half pound of brown sugar; mix
together, boil 15 minutes, and can while hot.

Chili Sauce. — Peel and chop fine one onion, and six large tomatoes,
add one green sweet Spanish pepper and one small hot chili pepper,
chopped; then season with one cupful of vinegar, one tablespoonful salt,
two teaspoonfuls brown sugar, one teaspoonful each of ground ginger,
cinnamon, cloves and black pepper, and half a nutmeg. Boil slowly until
very thoroughly cooked, then bottle and seal when cold.

Chutney Sauce. — Eight ounces of tart apples, peeled and cored, eight
ounces of peeled tomatoes, eight ounces brown sugar, eight ounces salt,
four ounces powdered ginger, four ounces red peppers, two ounces
shallots (or onion), two ounces garlic. Pound all together in a mortar
(or pass through a chopper set to cut fine) and then put all the materials
together in a jar with 2^ pints good vinegar. Place the jar in a warm
place, covered for one month, stirring with a wooden spoon twice every
day. At the end of the time pass the chutney through a sieve, and bottle,
when it is ready for use. The intense heat of the peppers grows milder
with keeping, and the chutney improves and becomes richer in flavor.

Peach Chutney. — Pare and halve sufficient peaches' to weigh, when
ready, three pounds. Put them in a large agate saucepan, add one pint
of vinegar and stew gently until tender. Pound together in a mortar
four ounces of white onions, two ounces garlic and five ounces of fresh
ginger root; add these to the peaches with six ounces each of sugar,
seeded raisins and white mustard seed. Add two ounces of dried chillies
and one cupful of vinegar. Simmer for 10 minutes longer, then bottle.
This is a familiar old English recipe.

I

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 179

Cranberry Catsup (Good Housekeeping). — One quart of cranberries,
one cup of water and two cups of vinegar. Tie in a piece of muslin a
few cloves, three or four allspice, about a dessertspoon of broken cinna-
mon, and some mace. Simmer all together in a preserving kettle until
the fruit is perfectly soft. Press through a colander, add one pound of
brown sugar, simmer 10 minutes longer, and seal. This recipe will make
a most delicious catsup, and one conveniently made in small quantities
at any time throughout the Winter.

Cucumber Catsup. — For a small quantity take 12 fine full-grown
cucumbers and lay them an hour in cold water. Then pare them and
grate them down in a deep dish. Grate also six small onions and mix
them with the grated cucumber; season the mixture to your taste with
pepper, salt and vinegar, making it of the consistency of jam. When
thoroughly mixed put it in a glass jar, cover closely so that it will be
perfectly air-tight. It will be found very nice to eat with beef or mutton,
and if properly made and tightly covered it will keep well. It should be
grated very fine, and the' vinegar must be real cider vinegar.

Ripe Cucumber Catsup. — (Some people call this a "salad," but it is
worth making under any name.) Peel 12 large, ripe cucum.bers ; remove
seeds and pulp; chop the solid meat; mix with it a cupful of salt and
hang in bag to drain. Chop 12 large onions and six peppers and mix
with the cucumbers. Mix together one-fourth pound white mustard seed;
one-half cupful celery seed, and one cupful of sugar. Mix all together;
cover with cold vinegar; put in cans and fix tops firmly. The above, or
any similar preparations should be kept in a dark, cool place. If the
darkness is not available, wrap the cans with papers.

Cooked Cucumber Catsup. — Choose large, nearly ripe cucumbers; pare,
reject seeds, chop very fine and measure. Allow one teaspoonful of salt
for every pint of pulp, sprinkle with same and drain through a colander
for six hours. For every quart of cucumber allow two cups of cider
vinegar, four teaspoonfuls of grated horseradish, one tablespoonful each
of white mustard seed and minced red pepper (seeds rejected) ; bring
vinegar and flavoring to a boil, skim thoroughly and set aside until
perfectly cold. Then add the pulp to the vinegar, stir well, put into pint
jars, lay a nasturtium or horseradish leaf over the top and seal. Keep
in a dark, cool place.

Currant Catsup.— To five pounds of currants allow three pounds of
sugar, one tablespoon of cinnamon, one tablespoonful of cloves, one
tablespoonful of allspice, one teaspoonful of black pepper, one teaspoonful
of salt and half a pint of vinegar. Mash the currants and rub them
through a sieve; then add the other ingredients and boil for twenty
minutes. Bottle as you would tomato catsup.

ISO " THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Gooseberry Catsup. — Five pounds of fruit, three pounds of sugar, V/2
quart of vinegar, one tablespoonful of cloves, three tablespoonfuls of
cinnamon, two tablespoonfuls of allspice. Wash the berries, put them in
a porcelain stev^^pan, mash them well, add the other ingredients and boil
until thick. Seal while hot.

Grape Catsup. — Pick seven pounds of grapes off the stems, wash them,
put them in a stone jar and set the jar over the fire in a deep pot of
boiling water. Let the grapes cook in this manner for an hour in order
to loosen the seeds. Remove from the fire and strain through a sieve,
being careful that all the pulp goes through. Then add a pint of good
cider vinegar, three and a half pounds of sugar and a teaspoonful each
of cinnamon and cloves. Return to the fire and cook until thick.

Mushroom Catsup. — The mushrooms should be freshly gathered; care-
fully examined to see that they harbor no insects, and wiped, but not
washed. Put a layer of mushrooms in the bottom of an earthen dish,
and sprinkle well with salt; then another layer and more salt, continuing
imtil all are used. Cover with a folded towel, and stand in a cool place
for 24 hours; then mash and strain through a coarse bag. If put in a
warm place the juice will ferment. To every quart of liquid add one
ounce of pepper corns, and boil slowly in a porcelain-lined kettle for 30
minutes; then add one-fourth ounce whole allspice, one-half ounce sliced
ginger root, one dozen whole cloves and three blades of mace. Boil 15
minutes longer, then take from the fire and stand aside to cool. When
cool, strain through flannel, and put in small bottles, filling to the very
top. Cork tightly, and dip cork in sealing wax. This is a delicious
relish or seasoning, especially with poultry and mutton.

Oude Sauce. — Four quarts of green tomatoes, 18 small peppers, 18
small white onions; chop all together, add three cupfuls of salt and let
stand ever night. In the morning drain ofif the water and add four
cupfuls of sugar, four of horseradish, four tablespoonfuls of ground
cloves, four of cinnamon and cover with vinegar; stew gently all day,
then bottle and seal.

Pepper Sauce. — ;Take two dozen large ripe peppers, remove the stems
and most of the seeds ; put them in a kettle with three sliced onions, two-
cloves of garlic, one teaspoonful of salt, one pint of vinegar and one table-
spoonful of grated horseradish; boil together until the vegetables can be
rubbed through a coarse sieve; return to the fire, add a pint of vinegar,,
one tablespoonful of brown sugar, one teaspoonful each of ground cloves,
allspice and black pepper; boil five minutes; bottle and seal while ftot.
Plum Catsup. — Wash and drain four quarts of damson plums; c(«.ver
with a quart of water and cook slowly until tender, then press througUp a
sieve, rubbing through as much pulp and skin as you ran; return to th«
kettle; add three-quarters of a pound of sugar, t\v?8j: leve.1 tea&:^oonluI»

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 181

of cinnamon, a half teaspoonful of allspice and one of ground cloves;
simmer gently until as thick as tomato catsup ; then bottle and cork.

Peach Catsup. — Pare and quarter one peck of firm, ripe peaches; add
one pint of water to the peelings and one dozen sliced kernels; simmer
30 minutes, then strain ; add peaches to the liquor and simmer another
30 minutes; add one cupful cf vinegar, one-half cupful each of lemon
juice and sugar, two teaspoonfuls of ground cinnamon, and one-half
teaspoonful each of ground clo\es, mace and pepper, and boil very slowly
until as thick as desired. Seal hot in pint jars.

Red Pepper Catsup. — Two dozen pods of red pepper; put in a preserve
kettle with a half pint of strong vinegar and a pint of water; set on the
stove and let come to a boil. Add one root of grated horseradish, three
sliced onions, six whole cloves and one-half ounce of white mustard seed.
Let boil 10 minutes longer and strain. Put back in the kettle with a half
leacupful of brown sugar, one ounce of celery seed and a pint of strong
vinegar. Boil one hour, then bottle. This catsup will keep any length
of time.

Shirley Sauce. — Chop very fine twenty- four large tomatoes, two large
onions, two peppers; add one tablespoonful of salt, two of sugar, one
teaspoonful each of ginger, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, one nutmeg, one
pint of vinegar. Stew one hour and bottle while hot.

Southern Mixed Catsup. — Peel and cut up enough crisp, green cucum-
bers to fill a half-gallon measure, sprinkle with salt and let stand six
hours, press the water from them and scald in weak vinegar. Prepare
half a gallon of cabbage in the same way. Chop one dozen small onions,
cover with boiling water and let stand half an hour. Cut in slices one
quart of green tomatoes, one pint of green beans, one dozen small ears
of tender corn and one dozen green peppers. Scald and drain them.
Mix two tablespoonfuls of grated horseradish, one teacupful of ground
mustard, two cupfuls of white mustard seed, three tablespoonfuls of
turmeric, one of mace, three of celery seed, one of cinnamon, one of
cayenne, two of olive oil and one pound of sugar. Put in a jar with
the prepared vegetables and cover with boiling vinegar.

Tomato Catsup. — Pare one-half bushel tomatoes and cook until very
soft, sift them, taking all the seeds out. Then cook until as thick as you
desire the catsup and then add one quart vinegar, one-half pint salt, and
the following spices: One tablespoonful each of cloves, ginger and cinna-
mon, two tablespoonfuls each of mustard, black pepper and allspice, and
one-half teaspoonful cayenne pepper. Let it cook 10 minutes, then bottle
and cork tight, no further sealing is needed as it will keep for years
simply corked.

Tomato Catsup No. 2. — Wash and cut in pieces a half peck of ripe
tomatoes. Cook in a porcelain-lined or granite iron preserving kettle till

182 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

soft enough to put through a sieve, which will remove skins and seeds.
To the pulp add two tablespoonfuls of salt, two tablespoonfuls pepper,
one-half tablespoon allspice, one-half tablespoon cloves and one-half pint
vinegar. Let the tomato cook for several hours before adding the spices
and vinegar. Mix the salt and spices dry in a bowl, and blend well before
putting into the tomato. Cook till quite thick and put in bottles. Store
in a cool cellar.

Uncooked Tomato Catsup. — Peel and chop a peck of ripe tomatoes and
hang in bag, to drain for 24 hours. Add to the drained tomato four
bunches of celery (chopped fine) and one large cupful of chopped onion.
Mix the three vegetables thoroughly and then add one-fourth cup of salt;
one- fourth cup sugar; two tablespoonfuls mustard seed; two tablespoon-
fuls ground cinnamon ; one teaspoonful ground allspice, and two large red
peppers, chopped fine. Alix very thoroughly; cover with good cider
vinegar, and put in self-sealing cans.

Uncooked Catsup No. 2. — One peck of ripe tomatoes ; two horseradish
roots ; two large onions ; four stalks of celery ; two ounces mustard seed ;
four green peppers; one scant cup of salt; one cup of sugar; three pints
of vinegar. Pare and quarter tomatoes, place in colander to drain; chop
fine the celery, onions and peppers; grate the horseradish. Mix all thor-
oughly. Put in cans and seal.

Green Tomato Catsup. — One peck of green tomatoes and two large
onions sliced. Place them in layers, sprinkling salt between ; let them
stand 24 hours and then wash and drain them. Add a quarter of a pound
of mustard seed, one ounce allspice, one ounce cloves, one ounce ground
mustard, one ounce ground ginger, two tablespoonfuls black pepper, two
teaspoonfuls celery seed, a quarter of a pound of brown sugar. Put all
in preserving pan, cover with vinegar and boil two hours ; then strain
through a sieve and bottle for use.

Tomato Chutney. — Two pounds ripe tomatoes, two pounds sugar, one-
half pound green ginger, one pound raisins stoned, one-fourth pound of
salt, one ounce garlic, one-haif ounce powdered chillies, one quart vinegar.
Place the tomatoes in a shallow pan and put in an oven till they crack,
when the skins can be readily removed. Peel and core and boil them
with one-half of the vinegar 10 minutes. Pound or grind the ginger,
garlic and raisins with enough vinegar to make them into a paste. Boil
the sugar with the remainder of the vinegar into a thick syrup. Mix ail
the ingredients together with the salt and chillies, and boil till the fruit and
syrup run the one way when put on a plate held sideways. Bottle and seal.

CHAPTER XIII.

SALADS.

Beet Dressing. — One cupful vinegar, one-half cupful sugar, butter the
size of a walnut, salt and pepper to taste, scant tablespoon of cornstarch
or flour. Mix thoroughl}'-, boil till it thickens, pour over the sliced boiled
beets and serve immediately.

Butter Dressing for Potato Salad. — One cupful butter, melted, into
which is stirred one tablespoonful of flour, half cupful of vinegar, one
teaspoonful salt, one egg, half teaspoonful mustard, and a little pepper.
Add a small cupful of boiling water, and cook together until thickened
like cream.

Dressing With Bacon Fat. — Cook two tablespoonfuls of flour and a
dash of paprika or red pepper in five tablespoonfuls of hot bacon fat.
Add four or five tablespoonfuls of vinegar and half a cupful of water.
Stir and cook until boiling. Then gradually pour over the beaten yolk
of an egg (preferably two yolks). Return to the fire (over hot water) to
cook the egg, and add salt if needed. Use when cold. This dressing is
particularly good with endive or lettuce, alone or with eggs.

French Dressing. — This consists of three tablespoonfuls of oil to one
tablespoonful of vinegar. For every tablespoonful of vinegar and three
of oil, take one-half teaspoonful of salt and one-fourth teaspoonful of
black or white pepper. I\Iix the salt and pepper with the oil and add the
vinegar gradually, stirring thoroughly until it becomes white and a little
thickened. This dressing must be used as soon as it is made or it will
separate.

Prepared Dressing. — Here is a delicious salad dressing, which will keep
a long time if put on ice, or in a cold place. Mix half a cupful of oil,
five tablespoonfuls vinegar, half a teaspoonful powdered sugar, half a
small Bermuda onion, finely chopped, two tablespoonfuls chopped parsley,
half a tablespoonful chopped red pepper, one tablespoonful chopped greea
pepper, one teaspoonful salt. Let it stand for an hour, then whip up
with an tgg beater before using.

Sour Cream Dressing. — Chill a cupful of rich sour cream until very
cold, then beat well for five minutes, adding, while beating, a tablespoon-
ful of powdered sugar and a half teaspoonful of lemon juice. Slice
chilled cucumbers very thin, and serve with this dressing.

Salad Dressing Without Oil. — Piece of butter the size of an egg.
Heat in granite basin, add sifted flour till thick. Then add one cupful
of milk. When smooth add one cupful vinegar; two eggs (beaten); salt,

184 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

pepper, red or black, mnstard, seasoned as you wish ; one tablespoon of
sugar. Cook till thick. The jiditicn of a half cupful of well-beaten sour
or sweet cream will be found excellent. This dressing on potatoes, cu-
cumbers, lettuce or beets makes a most palatable salad. The friend who
gave this says it is a dressing that will keep for some time. She always
keeps a jar of it on hand. The left-over dish of beets, peas or string
beans is put in the potato salad for supper.

Mayonnaise. — Put tlie uncocked yolks of two eggs into an earthen
bowl, beat them well with a silver or wooden fork for about one minute;
then add a half teaspoonful of salt, a dash of cayenne, and if you desire,
a half-teaspoonful of mustard. Work these well together, and then add
drop by drop, a half pint or more of olive oil. Stir rapidly and steadily
v;hile adding the oil ; do not reverse the motion, or the mayonnaise may
curdle. After stirring in the first gill of oil, alternate occasionally with
a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar. The more oil you use. the thicker
the dressing. If too thick, add vinegar enough to make it the proper
consistency. The mayonnaise should be kept as cool as possible during
the making.

Banana Salad. — The bananas are peeled, sliced lengthwise down the
middle, dipped in mayonnaise, and laid, fiat side up, on lettuce leaves.
A layer of finely chopped peanuts is put on the banana, and a spoonful of
mayonnaise dressing put by it. Serve with heated graham crackers. This
is delicious.

Beet Salad. — Slice and cut into dice enough cold boiled beets to make
a pint; heap in the center of a salad dish, and cover with sauce Tartare.
This is made by adding a few chopped olives, gherkins and capers to
mayonnaise dressing. If the mayonnaise is not desired, any ordinary salad
mixture may be used, and the salad garnished with hard-boiled eggs and
parsley.

Cream Slaw. — Cut a small half head of white, tender cabbage on a
slaw cutter (or fine, with a sharp knife) ; sprinkle a very little black
pepper over it, and add one-third of small teaspoonful of salt. Have
ready a small half pint of thick sweet cream; add to this three even
tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar; stir until dissolved, then whip this
to a stiff froth, adding gradually two and a half tablespoonfuls of good
vinegar. When finished pour over the cabbage, stirring it lightly until
all is covered and stand in refrigerator, or in cold water, for 10 or 1.5
minutes before serving. The slaw should not be made too long before
serving, as the cold, crisp taste is most appetizing.

Herring Salad. — Heat through by broiling, or in the oven, three smoked
herrings. Then tear off the heads and pull the skin away; split, take out
the backbones, and cut up into small bits, or to shred them is better.
Put in a salad bowl, add one small chopped onion, two hard-boiled eggs,
chopped, and one boiled potato ; cut fine with a teaspoonful of chopped

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 185

parsley ; season with a teaspoonful of salt, one of pepper, three table-
spoonfuls of vinegar and two of oil; mix well, and if you have it, deco-
rate with a boiled beet.

Hot Slaw. — Cut a head -of cabbage fine. Have ready enough dressing,
half vinegar and half water, and one-fourth sugar, with a lump of butter
to cover it. Simmer until done. It is good cold. It is well to salt the
dressing a little, to taste.

Potato Salad. — Slice cold boiled potatoes with one raw onion to sea-
son. For the salad dressing, put on stove a saucepan with one pint of
vinegar and butter the size of an Qgg,. Beat two or three eggs with two
tablespoonfuls of mustard and a small teaspoonful of salt, and one of
black pepper, two tablespoonfuls of sugar. When thoroughly beaten pour
slowly into the vinegar until it thickens. Be careful not to cook too
long, or the egg will curdle. Remove and when cold pour over the salad.
It improves this to add the yolks of two or three hard boiled eggs mashed
luie and beaten in with the mustard, or add a cupful of cream. This will
keep several days in a cool pbce if desired. Plain French dressing may
be used instead if desired.

German Potato Salad. — Boil a few extra potatoes at dinner time.
When cold, carefully slice very thin. Set away to chill. When supper
time comes, cut for a quart of sliced potatoes one good-sized onion into
thin slices. Add a dash of pepper. Take two big 'slices of bacon, very
fat, cut into cubes, fry, add one-half cupful of vinegar. Pour over the
ialad and toss lightly with two forks.

Waldorf Salad. — Handsome red apples are selected, polished, but not
peeled, cored, and then hollowed into cups. The pieces removed are
mixed with chopped celery, put in the apple cups, a spoonful of mayon-
naise dressing being put over the top. The apples are put on individual
plates, each fruit standing on a crinkly lettuce leaf.

CHAPTER XIV.

CHEESE.

Cottage Cheese. — Bulletin No. 245, issued by the New York Experi-
ment Station at Geneva, is devoted to this subject; it will be found help-
ful by anyone making this cheese, either for market or domestic use. In
describing the manufacture of this cheese, the bulletin says that good
cottage cheese should have a soft, smooth texture, being neither mushy
nor dry and sawdust like. The flavor should be that of mildly soured
milk or well ripened cream, with an entire absence of bitter taste, flavor
of stable, or other objectionable qualities. Such flavor may usually be
secured by the use of a good starter; but if too much whey is retained
the cheese may be sour. Flavor and texture are quite closely connected,
at this point, for a slow draining curd is liable to result in poor textured
and poor flavored cheese. The various steps in making cottage cheese
may be summarized as follows.

Use skim-milk rather than whole milk, to avoid loss of fat. To se-
cure proper flavor and speedy souring add a small amount of a good
starter. This starter should be prepared from clean, fresh milk, sep-
arated from the cream and placed in a carefully cleaned receptacle, well
covered and brought to a temperature of 90 degrees, and then allowed to
stand from 20 to 24 hours at a temperature of 65 to 78 degrees. The
upper portion of this should be discarded and the amount needed strained
through a fine strainer or hair sieve and thoroughly mixed with the milk
from which cheese is to be made the next day. A portion may also be
used in preparing a starter for the next day, but as soon as any unfav-
orable effect is noticed a new stafter should be prepared. Several good
and convenient commercial starters are on the market, for use of which
directions accompany each package.

The milk is now kept at a temperature of 70 to 75 degrees until well
curdled, often in 24 hours, sometimes not until 48 hours. The curdled
mass is broken up by hand or by a curd knife, raised gradually to 90 de-
grees, taking 30 to 40 minutes in the process. The whey should then
separate clear in 15 to 20 minutes, after which it is run from the curd,
and the latter placed in muslin bags or on racks to drain. When whey
ceases to come from the curd, salt is added to taste or at the rate of
about a pound for 100 pounds of cheese, the curd formed into balls and
wrapped in oiled paper that may be obtained from any dairy supply
house. For the finest quality of cheese, thick cream, preferably ripened
cream, should be added at the rate of about an ounce for one pound

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 187

of cheese, before the cheese is made into balls. If it is thought best to
hasten the curdling rennet extract may be added about eight hours after
the starter has been introduced, using one ounce of rennet extract for
1,000 pounds of milk.

Escalloped Cheese. — Into a buttered baking dish sprinkle a layer of
coarse bread crumbs, with butter, pepper and salt on top. Next add a
layer of cheese, alternating with bread and cheese until the dish is full.
Have bread crumbs on top, pour on sweet milk until you can see it by
tilting the dish a little, and bake until done.

Cheese Fondu. — Put one tablespoonful of butter in pan, then one cup
milk; let it boil, then add one cup bread crumbs and two cups grated
cheese, little pepper and dry mustard. When the cheese melts add two
well-beaten eggs.

Macaroni with Cheese. — Throw one-half box of macaroni into boiling
water and cook 20 minutes. Never let the water stop boiling, or the
macaroni will be soft. Drain and pour into a buttered baking dish. Have
ready one cup of cheese cut into small pieces and stir this through the
hot macaroni together with salt and pepper to taste and a lump of butter
the size of a small ^gg. Add enough sweet milk almost to cover and
sprinkle the top with more grated cheese. Bake three-quarters of an
hour in a moderate oven. A good supper dish on a cold night.

Cheese Patties. — When making pies line a number of patty pans with
thin paste and bake. These will keep several days, but are better fresh.
Grate one-fourth pound cheese and add one pint milk, one tablespoon
flour, one-half teaspoon mustard or one dessertspoon prepared m.ustard,
one tablespoon butter and salt and pepper to taste. Carefully heat to-
gether, stirring to make a smooth mass. Serve hot in the patty shells.

Cheese Puffs. — Make some puff paste; roll it out and cut it into squares
of about three inches. Beat the yolks of two eggs and a little made mus-
tard, a dash of cayenne pepper and two tablespoonfuls of grated cheese,
to form a thick paste. Place a spoonful of the mixture in each square
of pastry, pull the four points to the center, pinching them together to
make them stand up. Bake 10 minutes and serve very hot.

Cheese Pudding. — Lay thin slices of stale bread, lightly buttered, in a
baking dish, and cover with broken cheese, no matter how old and dry
it is. Season with red pepper and salt. Fill the dish with alternate
layers of bread and cheese. Beat two eggs in a pint of milk, pour over
the bread and cheese, and bake in a hot oven. This will serve six per-
sons.

Spanish Rabbit. — To a cupful of grated cheese add two-thirds the
quantity of minced onion, which is first cooked in boiling water. Drain
and add milk almost to cover the onions ; season with salt and pepper
and when the milk is hot put in the cheese. As soon as the cheese is
melted stir in one well-beaten &gg. Cook a moment longer and serve.

388 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Cheese Ramekins. — Two ounces of bread crumbs boiled in one gill
of milk; to this add four tablespoonfuls of grated cheese, two of melted
butter, and stir over the fire until blended. Take off and add the beaten
yolks of two eggs, salt and pepper to taste. Beat the whites of three
eggs stiff, stir carefully into the mixture, and bake 15 minutes in a quick
oven.

Cheese Souffle. — Put two tablespoonfuls of butter in a saucepan; when
it melts add one heaping tablespoonful of flour, stir until smooth ; add a
half-cup of milk, a saltspoonful of salt and a saltspoonful of paprika;
cook two minutes; add the well-beaten yolks of three eggs and one cup
of grated cheese, but take it off the fire just before adding them, and
when you stir them all in well set it away to cool. When cold add the
stifily beaten vi^hites of the eggs, turn into a buttered dish and place im-
mediately in the oven and bake ^5 or 30 minutes. Have a folded napkin
ready to wrap around the dish and serve it immediately, or it will fall.

Cheese Sticks. — Mix together one pint grated cheese, one pint flour,
one tablespoon butter, two scant teaspoons baking po\yder, a little salt
and a dash of pepper. Mix with milk or water and roll thin like piQ
crust. Cut into strips four or five inches long and nearly an inch wide.
Bake in a quick oven.

Cheese Straws. — One cupful of grated cheese and one tablespoonful of
butler creamed together; two slices of bread, without crust, dried in oven
and rolled fine. Four tablespoonfuls of cold water, pinch of salt, dust
of red pepper, and flour enough to roll out. Cut in strips and bake a
delicate brown.

Cheese Toast. — Grate a cupful of cheese, and lightly mix in a heaping
saltspoonful of mustard, a half-saltspoonful of salt and a speck of cay-
enne. Heap this on thin strips or triangles of buttered toast, place them
in a hot oven for a few moments, and serve as soon as the cheese begins
to melt. Any kind of a thin cracker may be used instead, and a dusting
of paprika over each piece in place of the cayenne.

Welsh Custards. — One cupful of dry grated cheese, four eggs, one cup-
ful of milk, one teaspoon ful of butter, two of flour, mixed with milk, a
bit of soda size of pea, half a teaspoonful of salt and a pinch of cayenne.
Heat the milk, stirring in the soda, butter, salt and pepper, and the flour
mixture, and pour scalding hot on the eggs beaten light in a bowl. Add
the cheese, beat up for a minute, pour into buttered custard cups and
bake in a brisk oven for 20 minutes. Thev should be served instantlv.

CHAPTER XV.

AVARM SUPPER AND BREAKFAST DISHES.

Anchovy Toast. — Tcast a small round of bread for each person, butter
and put in vegetable dish. Make a sauce of one pint of milk and two
tablespoonfuls of flour; when thickened add level saltspoonful of salt,
dash of cayenne and three teaspoonfuls of anchovy essence or five
anchovies boned and pounded. Pour over the toast; serve hot.

Arrowroot Cream Toast.- —First put into a double boiler a scant pint
of rich milk and a teacupful o*f cream; let it come to the boiling point,
then add a large tablespoonful of fresh butter and a tablespoonful of
arrowroot wetted in a little milk or cream ; season to taste with salt, and
let it boil up. Toast light slices of bread, browning evenly. Put two
slices at a time into the sauce, and as soon as they soften all through,
which will only take a short time, put in a covered dish kept hot. Pour
a little sauce over each layer, and serve the toast while very hot.

Golden Cream Toast. — Cut slices of stale bread into diamonds and
toast to a pale brown, drying slightly in the oven before browning. Make
a rich white sauce of a pint of milk, three tablespoonfuls of butter, two
tablespoonfuls of flour, half a teaspoonful of salt, a dusting of mace and
a light dusting of pepper. Cook until smooth, add the grated yolks
of three hard-boiled eggs and pour over the toasted bread.

Baked Toast. — Prepare toast in the ordinary way, and, as each slice
is ready, dip quickly into a pan of boiling water slightly salted, then
pack into a baking dish, sprinkle well with salt, and cover deep with
boiling milk. Bake in a dish, closely covered, for 15 minutes, and serve.
The toast should have absorbed all the liquid without getting dry. If
you can spare three or four tablespoonfuls of cream, heat, and pour over
the surface just before sending to the table. The baking lends smooth-
ness and richness to this dish not to be found in milk toast prepared in
the usual way.

Bread Croquettes. — Rub the inside of a loaf of stale bread through
a colander, then measure. To one good quart add one pint of milk and
heat over the fire in a double boiler. As soon as it reaches the scalding
point take it off, let stand for a moment, then add one-half of a cupful
of cleaned currants, two tablespoonfuls of chopped citron, one-half of a
teaspoonful of cinnamon, two tablespoonfuls of chopped almonds and
the beaten yolks of two raw eggs. Return to the fire and stir and cook
for two minutes, then turn out on a greased dish and set aside until cold.
Form carefully into small cylinders, dip each in egg, roll in fine dried
crumbs and fry golden brown in hot fat. Serve with a foamy sauce.

190 THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

Cheese Pie. — Cut bread into one-third inch slices, cutting each slice in
half. Butter a shallow baking dish, put in a layer of bread, then a layer
of soft mild cheese, cut in one-eighth inch slices, and sprinkled with salt
and paprika or pepper. Beat two eggs slightly and add one cup of milk.
Pour over the bread and bake until the cheese is soft, which will take
about 30 minutes.

Hulled Corn au Gratin. — For one quart of hulled corn prepare a pint
of rich cream sauce, flavoring it with Worcestershire sauce or other
condiments to make it piquant. Put the sauce and corn in a baking dish
or individual ramekins in alternate layers, sprinkle the top with grated
cheese and a dusting of paprika, and bake until well browned on top.

Noodles. — Beat an ^gg slightly, but not until it foams; salt it to
season the dough, and then work in all the flour the egg can be made
to take up. Take the dough on to the board and knead in flour until it
is stiff and smooth, then roll out as thin as possible. Let the sheet of
dough dry for a while, but roll it into a roll like a jelly roll before it
gets dry enough to break when rolled; slice from the end, and shake into
strings. The thinner the dough is rolled, and the finer it is cut the better
the noodles are. A very thin, sharp knife makes the work of cutting
much easier and insures much fi.ner noodles. The directions given call
for one tgg as a basis, but the method of making is exactly the same if
six, or a dozen eggs are used. Three medium-sized eggs will make a
sheet of dough 20 inches square if properly rolled out, and will be
enough for a family of six or eight hungry people. When dry enough
to roll and cut, the noodles arc dry enough to cook, but they may be kept
for hours or days, after they are cut.

Cheese Noodles. — Make your noodles the day before you want to use
them and shave fine. Drop lightly into boiling water and allow them to
cook 15 minutes over a hot fire. Do not let them simmer, or they will
turn out a mushy mass. Drain and fill a rather deep pan to the depth
of two inches. Season with salt and pepper and pour over them enough
sweet milk almost to cover. Over the top grate cheese to the depth of
half an inch, cover and bake one hour, removing cover the last 15 min-
utes unless oven is too hot.

Rice Croquettes. — To one tcacupful of boiled rice, add one teaspoonful
of butter, a beaten tgg, a seasoning of salt and pepper,- and mix well to-
gether. Mold into rolls, or small cakes, dip into tgg, and then into pow-
dered cracker crumbs and fry in hot butter or drippings. A little finely
chopped cold meat is an improvement; it should be mixed with the rice
and egg before molding.

Rice Muffins. — One pint of milk, one pint boiled rice, two eggs, two table-
spoonfuls of sugar, one tablespoonful of butter, one teaspoonful each of
salt and baking powder. Beat the sugar, salt, yolks of eggs and butter

THE RURAL COOK BOOK. 191

together, add the milk and sufficient flour to make a thin batter; sift the
rice in lightly, and last the beaten whites. Bake in rings 30 minutes.

Royal Toast. — Put bread toasted a delicate brown in a square shallow
pan; put a piece of butter the size of a walnut on each slice, and sprinkle
with sugar. Arrange in layers, and pour over the whole enough milk
or cream to half fill the pan. Cover closely and set in a slow oven until
the liquid is all absorbed.

Swiss Toast. — Mash one-half box of berries, but not too fine; sweeten
one-quarter cup of sugar, then cut five slices of stale bread as for toast-
ing. Cover each slice with the berries. Retain some of the juice so as
not to make the bread too soft. Heat about two tablespoonfuls of but-
ter in a large frying pan ; put the slices with the berries on them carefully
into the hot butter and fry slowly until the bread is browned on the un-
derside, basting the berries with the butter while in the pan. Transfer the
bread and berries to a hot platter; pour the rest of the juice over them
and serve immediately.

Tomato Toast. — This can often be made from stewed or scalloped to-
matoes left over from dinner; the extra juice from canned tomatoes
which often makes them seem too watery, is useful for the toast. The
tomato is simmered with the proper flavoring, strained through a sieve,
and then thickened with flour and butter before being poured over the
toast. If one wishes to make more of a dish, crisp fried bacon may be
served with it, or a spoonful of minced ham or other cooked meat may
be put on the top of each piece of toast before the tomato is poured
over it.

Creamed Tomatoes. — Peel several tomatoes and cut them in moderately
thick slices. Fry them in butter, seasoning them as they are frying with
pepper and salt. Remove them carefully to a platter, leaving the shreds
of the tomatoes that have fallen ofif. Pour into the pan about three-
quarters of a cup of rich milk and thicken with flour. Pour this sauce
over the tomatoes.

Blueberry Pancakes. — Sift one scant pint of flour with one teaspoonful
of baking powder and a half-teaspoonful of salt. Mix two well-beaten
eggs with 2J/^ cupfuls of sweet milk and thoroughly blend all together.
Grease the griddle, drop the batter on in large spoonfuls and spread a
teaspoonful of blueberries on each, pressing into the cake. Turn, and
when brown serve with butter and powdered sugar.

Buckwheat Cakes. — One pint milk scalded and cooled, one-half tea-
spoonful salt. When lukewarm add one-fourth of a yeast cake which has
been dissolved in a little warm water ; one cup buckwheat flour and one
cup white flour. Let rise over night. In the morning stir in one-fourth
teaspoonful of soda and one tablespoonful molasses. Beat vigorously
before cooking.

Mixed Buckwheat Cakes. — Sift together two cupfuls of buckwheat,

192 • THE RURAL COOK BOOK.

one cupful of rolled oats, one cupful of cornmeal, one scant teaspoonful
of salt. Mix to a pour batter, with equal parts of milk and water, add
one-third of a cake of compressed yeast, cover and stand in a warm
place over night; before baking add one-third of a teaspoonful of soda
dissolved in hot water. These are good and easy of digestion.

Crumb Croquettes. — Melt a tablespoonful of butter in a frying pan
and add a tablespoonful of flour; a cupful of sweet milk, and salt and
pepper to season. Cook until it thickens, then add one beaten t^g. Re-
move from the fire and mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is thick.
Make into balls and let get cold. Roll in egg and crumbs ; fry in deep
fat like other croquettes.

Crumb Pancakes. — Two cupiuls sour milk, one-half teaspoonful soda,
two cupfuls stale bread crumbs, two eggs, two cupfuls flour, two level
teaspoonfuls baking powder, pinch of salt. Soak bread crumbs in the
milk over night, add dissolved soda ; if one has stale Johnny cake a
change may be made by using one cupful bread crumbs and one cupful
Johnny cake crumbs. In the morning add the eggs, well beaten, then sift
in the flour and baking powder. It may be that two cupfuls of flour
will not be needed to make a suitable batter; use just enough.

French Pancakes. — Beat five eggs very light, add two tablespoonfuls
of melted butter, one and one-half pints of milk, and enough wheat
tlour, sifted with two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, to make a good
batter. About a quart of flour will be needed. Melt a little butter in a
large frying pan, and pour the batter into this. When brown on one
side, turn carefully and brown on the other. When done, spread quickly
with fruit jelly, and roll up as you would a sheet of music. Transfer
carefully to a very hot dish, sprinkle with powdered sugar, or with pow-
dered sugar and ground cinnamon, and serve immediately.

Flannel Cakes. — One cupful of Indian meal, two cupfuls of flour, three
of boiling milk, one-fourth of a yeast cake, one teaspoonful of salt, two
tablespoonfuls of butter and one of sugar. Pour the boiling milk upon
the meal and butter; let it cool; then add the flour, salt, sugar and the
portion of yeast dissolved in four tablespoonfuls of cold water. Let it
rise over night, and in the morning fry as you would griddle cakes.

Yeast Flannel Cakes. — Heat q half-pint of sweet milk and into it put
one heaping tablespoonful butter, let it melt, add a half pint cold milk
and the well beaten yoXVis of two eggs, a half teaspoonful of salt, two
tablespoonfuls homemade yeast, and flour to make a stiff batter. Let
rise in a warm place over night. Before baking add the beaten whites,
which have been kept in a cool place during the night. Be sure to make
batter stiff enough, as flour must not be added after it has risen. These
cakes, half cornmeal and half wheat, are- very nice.

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

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